Euthanasia: Letter to Catholics

I appreciated the pastoral letter to the people of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. In part,

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are the opposite of care and represent the abandonment of older and dying persons. Instead, we encourage all people of goodwill, to respond to this new challenge with truth and compassion. I join the Anglican Church of Australia in affirming that our task is to protect, nurture and sustain life to the best of our ability.

 The proposals if enacted would allow some people to be treated differently under the law such that their lives could be taken at their request. The impact of a law of that kind on those people who fit the description is to make them vulnerable particularly if they feel that they are a burden to others.

The experience of the Netherlands confirms just how far such a mentality can spread with pressure to increase the scope of the law so that it includes not just those with terminal illness and unrelievable suffering, but also people who suffer from depression, those who cannot make their own decisions, and even children. 

See the full pastoral letter, Statement on Euthanasia by Archbishop Denis Hart, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.


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