CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic diocese in in Canada has issued a comprehensive guide to understanding the Church’s teachings on assisted suicide, instructing the faithful “not to take part in it, neither for themselves not with or for another person.”
Following the rise in popularity of assisted suicide, otherwise known as Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), the Archdiocese of Edmonton recently released its “Catholic Response to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.”
According to a statement on its website, the guide seeks “to equip Catholics to be effective witnesses in their families, parishes, workplaces and communities,” as secular media, government, and the country’s high court actively promote pro-MAID messaging.
The statement continued:
As Catholics, we uphold the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death. We believe that every single life matters. We are committed to protecting everyone, especially the most vulnerable. We offer hope, mercy and love to those who suffer – not abandonment and death.
The Catholic Church, drawing on the deepest sources of its tradition, remains strongly opposed to any form of euthanasia and assisted suicide (“medical assistance in dying” or MAiD).
Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the guide emphasizes the sacred nature of human life as an entity which “involves the creative action of God,” and “remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator who is its sole end.”
“Euthanasia and assisted suicide are gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, our Creator,” the guide continued. “As such, the Catholic Church is strongly opposed to any form of euthanasia and assisted suicide.”
The guide also takes issue with the “ambiguous and misleading” nature of the term “MAID,” since as it points out, the phrases “medical assistance in dying” and “dying with dignity” have historically meant “accompanying a patient with good medical care as they approach natural death.”
These euphemistic terms, the guide stated, are “innocuous words or expressions that veil the truth.”
The guide includes answers tailored to those who are in the process of dying, caregivers and families, clergy and lay chaplains, parishes, healthcare providers, and front-line professionals.
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