WelCom May 2024
The United Kingdom is gripped by the ‘aggressive promotion’ of doctor-assisted killing, according to a British archbishop who has urged Catholics to write to their local MPs to resist changes to laws prohibiting euthanasia.
Southwark Archbishop John Wilson issued a pastoral letter about a week after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced his support for assisted suicide and promised to bring forward a bill if his party wins the General Election this year. Labour is on course for a landslide victory.
In his letter, Archbishop Wilson asked the Catholics of his diocese, which covers south London and some of the south-east counties of England, to contact their MPs ‘to express your opposition to assisted suicide and your desire for the Government to commit to improving palliative care provision across the UK’.
‘As Christians, the family teaches us to treat every human life as a gift from God, not a commodity we manipulate and dominate. Every human life is to be welcome. Every human life is to be cherished,’ he wrote.
‘The Catholic Church believes and teaches that every life is valuable, regardless of one’s physical or mental state or ability. We are called to care for those who are suffering, not to bring about their death.
‘We cannot approve of any form of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Rather, we need to support individuals, families, and those who work in healthcare, so that the fundamental value of life is not eroded.’
Meanwhile in Scotland, Liam McArthur Member of Scottish Parliament has secured the right to introduce a Bill to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults later this year.
Source: Catholic Herald