Sydney, Australia, Jun 25, 2019 / 12:03 am (CNA).- While Cardinal George Pell of Australia is appealing his sexual abuse conviction in court, he and his supporters are making arrangements for a “safe hideaway” for the cleric, should his con… […]
Melbourne, Australia, Jun 19, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- The four Latin rite ordinaries in Victoria have written a pastoral letter denouncing the state’s “new, and deeply troubling chapter of health care,” as voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal Wednesday.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 took effect June 19.
In a June 14 letter, the bishops of Melbourne, Ballarat, Sale, and Sandhurst wrote that “We cannot cooperate with the facilitation of suicide, even when it seems motivated by empathy or kindness.”
“What is being referred to as ‘VAD’ is a combination of what in plain- speaking is more commonly known as physician assisted suicide and euthanasia,” they noted.
“We feel a responsibility not just to say ‘no’ to VAD, but to give every encouragement to model a way of life that renders VAD unnecessary.”
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 allows adult Victoria residents who are terminally ill, expected to die within six months (or 12 if they have a neurodegenerative condition), and mentally competent, to ask their doctor to prescribe drugs that will end their lives.
Two doctors must verify the requester’s eligibility, and the person must make three requests for assisted suicide or euthanasia. Those seeking to end their lives must have lived in Victoria for at least a year, and be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
According to The Age, a Melbourne daily, pharmacists at The Alfred Hospital will prepare and supply the mixture of drugs. They will deliver to the terminally ill the dose of about 100mL of liquid in a locked box with a key.
The box will include instructions on how to mix and drink the drugs, “and there is no expiry date on when the drugs can be consumed,” The Age reported.
Physicians will be allowed to administer the drugs via an intravenous drip to those incapable of swallowing.
Health practicioners are granted conscientious objection rights against participation in euthanasia or assisted suicide under the law.
About 100 doctors across the nearly 92,000 square mile state “have began receiving the mandatory training required to be allowed to assist terminally ill patients who need medical help to die,” according to The Age.
A review board of 13 medical and legal experts will review assisted suicide-euthanasia applications after the fact to ensure compliance with the law. The board will also be able to recommend improvements to the state government, and refer breaches to police, coronors, or the Australian Health Practicioner Regulation Agency.
The bishops said the legislation has been inappropriately labeled as a compassionate response to terminal illness. They pointed to Pope Francis, who has characterized euthanasia as a feature of a “throw-away culture.”
“Francis calls us to follow Christ by accompanying people with compassion, sharing hope not fear. In Victoria, we have entered a moment in which we are called to join this task,” they said.
“We object to the unnecessary taking of a human life; we object to the diminishment of the love that can be given and received in the last days of our loved ones; we object to the lack of adequate funding for excellent palliative care; we object to state-sponsored practices that facilitate suicide; and most of all we object to the lazy idea that the best response our community can offer a person in acute suffering is to end their life.”
The bishops said that Catholics should accompany those dying, providing them with love and friendship until the last moment of their life. They encouraged Victoria’s Christian community to engage the law with prayer and dialogue.
“We are called to engage with our Victorian communities with friendship and wisdom, not motivated by fear,” they said. “We will not abandon those we love, and we believe they have a right to be loved from the beginning to the end of their life.”
They pointed to the examples of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla and Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, who bore witness to the value of the human person “despite great personal cost.”
The bishops also applauded the efforts of Catholic hospitals.
“Catholic hospitals and Catholic residential care organisations have shown great courage. They have united to find ways to model excellent care for their patients, and are committed to resisting calls to involve themselves in VAD,” they said.
“Please learn about their thoughtful and considered response to VAD, which is framed through their enduring commitment to excellence in end of life care, and show them your support.”
Victoria Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, of the Australian Labor Party, expects the number of persons seeking assisted suicide or euthanasia to be low initially, and increase in later years.
“We anticipate that once the scheme has been in place for some time, we’ll see between 100 and 150 patients access this scheme every year,” Mikakos told the ABC.
“In the first year, we do expect the number to be quite modest — maybe only as low as a dozen people,” she added.
According to The Australian, pro-life supporters held a vigil outside Parliament House in Melbourne June 18.
Denise Cameron, president of Pro-life Victoria, said the law is still widely opposed by those in the medical field.
“The Andrews government has set in motion a regime which will legitimise suicide for our most vulnerable community members, devalue palliative care and pressure doctors into abandoning their medical ethic of first do no harm,” she said.
While the bill was being considered in 2017, Bishop Peter Stasiuk of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne said support of euthanasia and assisted suicide is “motivated by a false sense of compassion.” He wrote in a pastoral letter that “Endorsing suicide as a solution to pain or suffering sends the wrong message, especially to the young. Suicide is a tragedy for the person who takes their own life, but it also seriously affects their family and community. It would be morally corrupt to legally endorse any form of suicide.”
The assisted suicide and euthanasia law has been opposed not only by Catholics, but by leaders of the Greek and Coptic Orthodox Churches, as well as Anglicans and Lutherans.
Advocates for assisted suicide and euthanasia have said the eligibility requirements are too onerous, and intend to challenge them in court, but do hope other Australian states will follow Victoria’s lead.
Queensland and Western Australia are considering similar bills.
New South Wales rejected such a bill in 2017, as did the national parliament in 2016, and that of Tasmania in 2013.
Australia’s Northern Territory legalized assisted suicide in 1995, but the national parliament overturned the law two years later.
Hong Kong, China, Jun 17, 2019 / 04:17 pm (CNA).- Hundreds of thousands of protestors in Hong Kong are continuing to demonstrate against the government’s plans to allow extraditions to mainland China— a plan which as of Saturday has been indefinitely suspended.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, had introduced a bill that would allow for secret arrests and extraditions to mainland China, where Communist courts would try alleged criminals.
The legislation drew widespread protest and was placed on hold, but protests have continued, calling for Lam’s resignation.
Catholic leaders are speaking out in support of the protestors and calling for peace and dialogue.
“They are protesting an issue about an extradition rule promoted by the government,” Cardinal John Tong Hon, Apostolic Administrator of Hong Kong, told Vatican Radio.
“This is our concern too…we ask our Catholics to pray for this situation.”
A group of six religious leaders in Hong Kong have formed a coalition to appeal for an end to violent protests— the largest anti-government demonstrations since 2003— on the island.
The cardinal is part of the interreligious coalition, which includes leaders of Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Islam, Vatican Radio reported.
The coalition, on a visit to the Vatican this week, called for the individual rights of the protestors to be respected; distanced themselves from the violent tactics of some; and urged the government and the protestors to sit down together to engage in dialogue.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, held a Mass and prayer service on Sunday to pray for “the future of [Hong Kong].” He also posted a photo to Facebook of himself on stage with several protestors, with the caption “Hong Kong people, come on! Courage and force… Hong Kongers #withdrawextradictionbill.”
In addition, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing of Hong Kong took part in a continuous ecumenical prayer meeting outside the Legislative Council building with thousands of Christians overnight after the latest rally on Sunday, The Union of Catholic Asian News reported.
The issue of extradition has been a contentious one in the region for a number of years, as Hong Kong has no formal extradition deal with Taiwan, Macao and mainland China, potentially creating legal loopholes in some circumstances.
Lam announced June 15 that she was putting the proposed legislation on indefinite hold, and she issued an apology via a government spokesperson. Despite this, protestors showed up June 16 in even greater numbers than the June 9 demonstrations, during which police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, injuring 72 members of the crowd; 21 police officers were also injured.
Many of the island’s Christians have been involved in the protests. Large groups of protestors have even adopted the hymn “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” as an unofficial anthem for the movement.
“Regrettably the ‘Extradition Bill’ dispute has now come to a violence and bloodshed stage,” the diocese of Hong Kong said in a June 12 statement.
“Therefore, once more we make an urgent appeal, that the SAR Government and the general public exercise restraint and seek a solution to the current dilemma through peaceful, rational channels.”
The Civil Human Rights Front, a political group that organized the protests, reported that nearly 2 million people had taken to the streets in the most recent protest, held June 16. Police said they counted 338,000 people along the original procession route.
Last week the organizers said a little over 1 million participated, while police put their estimate at 240,000.
As a special administrative region, Hong Kong has a large degree of autonomy from mainland China, with its own political and economic system. The territory was a British colony from 1842 until 1997.
There are some 581,000 Catholics in Hong Kong, or about eight percent of the population.
Hong Kong also has a separate legal system from the mainland. Britain ceded sovereignty of the island to China in 1997; the agreement giving Hong Kong special rights and freedoms under Chinese rule ends in 2047.
Hong Kong, China, Jun 17, 2019 / 03:52 pm (CNA).- Though a proposed change to extradition laws in Hong Kong is on hold for now, Christian leaders and advocacy groups are continuing to speak out, warning that under the proposal those in Hong Kong who su… […]
Melbourne, Australia, Jun 6, 2019 / 08:10 am (CNA).- The lead prosecutor arguing to sustain the conviction of Cardinal George Pell struggled Thursday in presenting the Crown’s case. Christopher Boyce struggled to answer questions from the three-j… […]
Melbourne, Australia, Jun 4, 2019 / 09:45 pm (CNA).- The legal team for Cardinal George Pell set out its case for appeal at the Supreme Court of Victoria Wednesday morning. Judges heard the opening arguments for the defense as they sought leave to appe… […]
Singapore, Jun 3, 2019 / 06:33 pm (CNA).- Two Catholic churches in Singapore have opened their doors offering housing to the country’s homeless.
The Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Bukit Bato and Church of Christ the King in Ang Mo Kio are o… […]
Melbourne, Australia, Jun 3, 2019 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against his criminal conviction for child sexual abuse will be heard in Australia on Wednesday. The cardinal was convicted in December, 2018, of five charges of se… […]
Canberra, Australia, Jun 3, 2019 / 11:19 am (CNA).- Last week the Australian bishop’ conference and Catholic Religious Australia adopted new standards to combat the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in the wake of a 2017 report on such abuse in the country’s institutions.
The National Catholic Safeguarding Standards were adopted May 30.
“These National Catholic Safeguarding Standards draw from the Child Safe Standards outlined during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, but they provide additional criteria relevant to the governance of the Church,” Sr. Monica Cavanagh, president of CRA, stated.
“The standards will allow Catholic entities and the public to have additional confidence in the Church’s approach to addressing the tragedy of abuse and to building a culture of safety for all, especially for the young and the vulnerable.”
Catholic Professional Standards Limited, a non-profit which promotes child protection by auditing and reporting on Catholic entities, developed and released the standards. CPSL was founded in 2016.
The 10 standards include committed leadership, informed children, partnership with families, complaints management, and ongoing education. They will focus first on children, and be extended to vulnerable adults.
“Much has already been achieved,” Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane commented. “But more work remains to be done and we are committed to making the changes required.”
He added that “in addition to what’s been done and is being done locally, new guidelines from Pope Francis are helping to strengthen the Church’s global response to child sexual abuse –although many of the protocols and processes in place in Australia go beyond what the Pope is asking.”
The pope promulgated universal norms on sex abuse reporting which took effect June 1, days after the adoption of the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards. The norms of Vos estis lux mundi establish that clerics and religious are obliged to report sexual abuse accusations to the local ordinary where the abuse occurred. Every diocese must have a mechanism for reporting abuse. When a suffragan bishop is accused, the metropolitan archbishop is placed in charge of the investigation.
Archbishop Coleridge also said the Church in Australia is implementing the relevant recommendations of the Royal Commission.
A report from the Australian Royal Commission released in December 2017 found serious failings in the protection of children from abuse in the Catholic Church and other major secular and religious institutions.
The Royal Commission urged a program to compensate the victims of institutional child sex abuse, which the Church in Australia established in July 2018.
It also proposed that priests be legally obligated to disclose sexual abuse sins which have been admitted in the confessional, or face criminal charges.
The Australian bishops’ conference responded positively to nearly all the Royal Commission’s recommendations, but has defended the sanctity of the confessional seal.
Manila, Philippines, May 29, 2019 / 12:05 pm (CNA).- A new law in the Philippines to support those living in poverty has won the praise of Caritas Manila, a Catholic aid agency in the country.
“We congratulate and support President Duterte 100% … […]
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