Madrid, Spain, Oct 4, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Referring to the ongoing debate in Spain regarding euthanasia, Archbishop Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Toledo, Spain, criticized today’s false prophets who promote a quality of life that excludes suffering.
In a pastoral letter to be published in the coming days, the Archbishop denounced euthanasia and divorce, saying he was motivated solely by his Episcopal duty and not by any political reaction.
Referring to the movie, “Mar Adentro” (“Out to Sea,”) which helped trigger the debate on euthanasia, and which will compete for the Oscar to the best foreign movie, Archbishop Cañizares stated that “the way in which the news was reported at the time…was confusing, enticing, and even sometimes harmful to people’s conscience and liberty. For example, it is presented as if it were something ordinary, normal and heroic, when in reality it is a rare case and, with all due respect to Ramon Sampedro, not exactly an model of human heroism.”
After recalling that the National Federation of Associations for Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries and the Severely Handicapped has declared that the vast majority of the handicapped are opposed to euthanasia, the Archbishop said, “There are many false prophets of a ‘painless’ life who tell us not to put up with anything and to rebel against the smallest of setbacks.”