The recent
approval of Bill C-14, which legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide in our
country, stands as an appalling landmark decision to the utter failure of
government, and indeed all society, to care truly, authentically and humanely
for the suffering and vulnerable in our midst.
We
live in a country where the vast majority of the dying cannot access quality
palliative or home care, where rates of suicide in many Indigenous communities
are staggeringly high, and where it is suggested that the lives of vulnerable,
chronically ill and disabled persons are not worth living. Paradoxically, and
most unfortunately, our society has now enshrined in law that killing is a
respectable way to end suffering. Our country’s growing inability to recognize
the sanctity of human life is staggering and deeply troubling.
No
institution, person, ideology or legislation is entitled to threaten or
undermine the sacredness of both the dignity of each individual person and the
very gift of life itself. We are called, as a community of compassionate
individuals, to respect and protect the continuum of life from conception to
natural death, honouring a vision of the human person in his/her present
earthly existence as well as life beyond the grave. Catholics and indeed all
people of good will have a moral and societal obligation to protect the vulnerable,
comfort the suffering, and accompany the dying. The Bishops of Canada hope and
pray that with all our Catholic brothers and sisters and our fellow Canadians,
each of us and our society may experience a greater conversion of heart so as
to recognize the image of God so profoundly imprinted on every human life,
whatever that person’s state, level of comfort or degree of productivity and
societal contribution.
The
intentional taking of any human life – be it an elderly person, a child, a
vulnerable adult, an embryo, a dying person – is truly a grave and morally
unjustifiable act. Our society needs to reject all offenses against life
itself: murder, genocide, suicide, abortion, euthanasia, and physician-assisted
dying. The purposeful termination of human life via a direct intervention is
not a humane action whatsoever. We ought to look instead to minimizing the pain
and suffering of the dying and those who are tempted to end their lives, not
eradicate their existence. Let us strive to help the sick and incapacitated
find meaning in their lives, even and especially in the midst of their
suffering. Let us comfort those facing terminal illness or chronic conditions
through our genuine presence, human love and medical assistance. Let us, as a
society and as individuals, choose to walk with them, in their suffering, not
contribute to eliminating the gift of life.
Declaring
physician-assisted suicide a “right” is not true caring and not humane in the
least. It is ultimately a false act of mercy, a distortion of kindness to our
fellow man/woman. The new legislation seems to insinuate that a human being, a
person, ceases to be a person and loses his/her very dignity simply because of
a loss or diminishment of a number of physical and mental capacities. It is untrue.
What is true is that our own humanity is weakened when we fail to care for the
weak and dying, and when we purposefully fall short of considering them, with
all their ailments and limitations, as persons worthy of life. True human
compassion invites us to share the other’s pain, the other’s journey – it is
not meant to do away with the person. Physician-assisted suicide is an affront
to what is most noble, most precious in the human endeavour and a grave
injustice and violation of the dignity of every human person whose natural and
inherent inclination is indeed the preservation of life. We ought to surround
our sick and dying, our vulnerable and disabled, with love and attention, with
care and true life-giving compassion. This is why palliative care continues to
be undeniably the only moral, effective and much needed alternative, the only
compassionate choice, now that our country has embarked upon this perilous
road.
Saint
Joseph, patron of Canada and patron of a good death, pray for us.
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
June 27, 2016
