Bishops not planning pastoral guidelines on assisted suicide
OTTAWA – Canada’s Catholic bishops are unlikely to issue national pastoral guidelines on how to accompany Catholics considering euthanasia, the bishops’ conference president said.
Catholic health care pressured to join in euthanasia process
OTTAWA – The archbishop of Vancouver has written to a local health authority to oppose a threat to make compliance with assisted suicide requests mandatory at all its health institutions, including Catholic hospitals and palliative care centres.
Quebec cardinal won't refuse funerals for those choosing assisted death
QUEBEC CITY – Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec said he has no intention to follow in the steps of his fellow Canadian bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories in refusing funerals for those who asked to be euthanized.
Dutch cardinal warns Canadian bishops about 'slippery slope' of euthanasia
CORNWALL, Ont. – The Archbishop of Utrecht advised Canadian bishops to continue to decry euthanasia and assisted suicide so that Canada never emulates the Netherlands, where assisted killing can now be administered to psychiatric patients and the handicapped.
Euthanasia is not salvation
One would think, as a teenage girl, suicide should be the very last thing on my mind. But in a recent conversation with my grandfather, I’ve had reason to reflect on just how much Canadians have changed their perspective on assisted suicide and what a contrast it is to his generation.
New documentary tackles truth about euthanasia
Promoters of assisted suicide and euthanasia have effectively used heart-wrenching stories from those experiencing great pain as they deal with illness. By putting a human face to a discussion, they have been successful in getting the courts and politicians to come aboard the right-to-die bandwagon.
Alberta, NWT bishops: No last rites for those seeking euthanasia
Priests should withhold the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to people who have requested assisted suicide or euthanasia, according to pastoral guidelines issued by the bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
Full agenda for Canadian bishops’ upcoming plenary
OTTAWA – The impact of Bill C-14 that legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada will be among the issues facing Canada’s bishops as they gather for their annual plenary Sept. 26-30 in Cornwall, Ont.
Bar association urges federal government to expand euthanasia
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is calling on the government to expand access to euthanasia in a way that, according to opponents, would make it “wide open.”
Relieving pain
Widespread abuse of prescription painkillers is a major problem that governments are right to address. But Ontario’s recent move to become the first Canadian jurisdiction to eliminate high-dosage opioid medications from its provincial drug plan goes a step too far.
A Belgian court has fined a Catholic care home for refusing to let a terminally ill woman receive a lethal injection on their property.
Court challenges expected against assisted suicide law
Court challenges to Bill C-14 are expected to come from both opponents and supporters of assisted suicide, said Euthanasia Prevention Coalition legal counsel Hugh Scher.
Judicial review sought for Ontario physicians’ college over forced assisted-suicide referrals
OTTAWA – Members of the Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience are taking the College of Physicians’ and Surgeons of Ontario (CSPO) to court over its assisted-suicide policy that would force health-care practitioners to refer people for assisted suicide even if it goes against their conscience.
OTTAWA – As euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal in Canada opponents vowed to continue the fight to protect conscience rights of health-care workers and Catholic institutions and to oppose inevitable court challenges to widen the net of assisted killing.
Editor’s note: Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins has long been a voice in the fight against assisted suicide in Canada. Following the passing of Bill-C-14 to legalize the process, the cardinal released the following statement on the bill’s passing.