Physician-Assisted Suicide

"Bishops  Urge Catholics to Demand End to Euthanasia Law as Ottawa Seeks its Expansion"
The government is undertaking a "consultation" with an online survey.  Here is the response from our Bishops:

Read more here:  https://grandinmedia.ca/bishops-urge-catholics-to-demand-end-to-euthanasia-law-as-ottawa-seeks-its-expansion/

04 January 2020 - Archbishop Paglia: never euthanasia, assisted suicide and abandoning the sick
The President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life comments on the Message of Pope Francis for the annual World Day of the Sick. In it, the Pope reiterates the Church’s respect for life from conception to its natural end.

To read the article by Vatican News please visit https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-01/paglia-sick-euthanasia-suicide-pope-message.html
 

To read the article by the Catholic News Service, please clickhere:  https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/euthanasia-is-not-an-expression-of-personal-freedom-pope-says.cfm

"A group of doctors asked the Court of Appeal for Ontario to overturn a divisional court decision that upheld a decision requiring doctors to give medical referrals that clash with their moral or religious beliefs. On Wednesday, a judge dismissed the appeal."

To read the article published by the Catholic Register, please visit https://www.catholicregister.org/item/29498-court-upholds-ruling-that-ontario-doctors-must-refer-for-services-they-oppose

To read the article courtesy of the CBC, please read at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-appeal-court-doctors-referrals-objections-1.5136455

An April 2, 2019 article by Grandin Media states, "Canada’s euthanasia statistics for 2018 have shown an alarming 50 per cent rise over the previous year’s figures, says Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.  'We have almost caught up to the Netherlands and Belgium in a very short time,' Schadenberg said in an interview. 'We seem to have a complete acceptance of euthanasia in our country. What concerns me is the level of push going on to have this normalized'."

To read the complete article please click here.

If you have not done so already, please read Bishop Fabbro's Letter to the Faithful, dated February 21, 2017, here.  You may have already seen this as a bulletin insert in your local parish or parish cluster.

A joint, open letter to MPPs was sent to all Members of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario and released Monday, March 27, 2017, with respect to the provincial Bill 84 (Medical Assistance in Dying Statute Law Amendment Act). The open letter, co-signed by His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, together with other ecumenical and interfaith partners, is asking the Government of Ontario to enshrine into law the protection of conscience for health care practitioners in Ontario who refuse to participate in the administering of euthanasia.

The Ontario Government’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs held a public hearing on the matter of ammendments to Bill 84 on Thursday, 23 March 2017.  Cardinal Collins, Bishop Ronald P. Fabbro, President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, and Dr. Moira McQueen, Director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, were present during the hearing and provided an oral presentation advocating for conscience rights.  Several doctors and nurses were also present advocating for legislation to protect conscience rights.
 
Information about Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience is a resource developed by the Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience that explains the concerns about Ontario’s euthanasia legislation and the lack of conscience protection rights, and offers some possible solutions.
 
A written copy of the presentation that Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, to the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs re Bill 84, on March 23, 2017, is available here.  The Archdiocese of Toronto has also shared a video of Cardinal Collins explaining the moral issues at hand in relation to conscience rights in Ontario and Bill 84.  Video from His Eminence, Cardinal Thomas Collins

For an update about the Call for Conscience Campaign, please click here.

Bill 84 was passed on May 9, 2017, and received Royal Assent on May 10, 2017, and therefore has passed into law.

His Eminence Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a public lecture on May 15, 2017 St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in the Archdiocese of Toronto.  The text is here.  This conference was part of a symposium organized by the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute on the theme Conscience Rights and Healthcare Professionals. The Symposium continues on May 16 with a panel discussion with several guests, including the Most Reverend Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B., Bishop of London and President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Click here for a handy 'FAQ' resource developed by the Catholic Organization for Life and the Family  and hosted online by the Diocese of Hamilton:  "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Why Not?  Quick Answers to Common Arguments."  This document is free to copy and distribute.

With permission, we are sharing this informational brochure, "Euthanasia Physician-Assisted Suicide" developed by the Diocese of Hamilton.  Please click here.