Winnipeg, Canada, Aug 22, 2009 / 06:16 am
The Catholic bishops of Canada are urging Catholics to voice their opposition to a radical bill that would allow assisted suicide and euthanasia for those with severe chronic mental or physical pain or even depression. Insisting that killing is not compassionate, the bishops said the lives of those who suffer should be valued and affirmed.
"Euthanasia and assisted suicide are the antithesis to what should be at the heart of human civilization - trust, respect, concern and solidarity, based on reverence for all human life," Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg wrote in a July 17 letter to his fellow bishops.
The archbishop, head of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), urged bishops to invite Catholics to become informed about euthanasia, to speak to their political representatives, and to join with others in fighting efforts to change the law.
“This debate must be taken seriously,” Archbishop Weisgerber continued, noting an apparent growing tolerance in the news media towards euthanasia and assisted suicide, Canadian Catholic News reports.