catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 10, May, 2020 FROM PAGE 1 “There is simply no safe way of legislating for euthanasia and assisted dying that does not fundamentally threaten the lives of the vulnerable in our society,” Archbishop Porteous told The Catholic Weekly . “People’s suffering and pain should be relieved in a way consistent with the dig- nity of human life through the use of palliative care in the final phase of their life.” The Bill lists “disease, illness, injury, or medical condition, of the person that is serious, incurable and ir- reversible” as relevant med- ical conditions under which Tasmanian residents over 18 would access the regime. A person would be eligi- ble if they had “intolerable suffering” caused by the relevant medical condition, or its treatment, or antici- pation of the suffering that may arise from these. The Tasmanian Parlia- ment has voted down simi- lar bills three times already, most recently in 2017. This is the first to be in- troduced and debated in the Upper House. Mr Gaffney said he is confident it will be passed into law this year. It if is, it would make Tasmania the third Austral- ian state with an assisted suicide regime after Victo- ria and Western Australia which passed their laws in 2017 and 2019 respectively. “The primary purpose for me for this Bill is to give people a choice,” he told media. Tasmania set to legalise extreme formof euthanasia Death to expand in southern state I n this edition News Streaming Archbishop’s homily World Opinion, comment 1-7 8-9 14-16 11, 17-19 20-21 14 WARNING: THE NEW IDEOLOGIES OF DICTATORSHIP EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 David Ryan (02) 9390 5408 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Paul Desmond (02) 9390 5406 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5132. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by ACM Australian Community Media, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond NSW, 2754. LEAVE A GIFT Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic CHARITIES Order your FREE Wills and Bequests Guide today 1800 753 959 or
[email protected] myWill SUPPORTINGTHE MINISTRIES OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY Leaving a gift in a BELGIUM’S BROTHERS of Charity have cut ties with their 15 homes for psychi- atric patients after the Vati- can stripped the institutions of their Catholic status be- cause euthanasia was per- mitted on their premises. Brother Rene Stock- man, superior general of the Brothers of Charity, the order that founded the homes, said on 5 May the brothers had “no choice but to remain faithful” to their “charism of charity, which cannot be reconciled with the practice of euthanasia on psychiatric patients”. The centres were man- aged by the Provincial As- sociation of the Brothers of Charity. “The loss of Catholic identity for our psychiat- ric centres in Belgium is a painful situation for the congregation (of the broth- ers),” Brother Stockman said. “With a heavy heart, the congregation has to let go of its psychiatric centres in Belgium.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ruled that the pro-euthanasia po- sition of the Provincial As- sociation of the Brothers of Charity was incompatible with church teaching on the inviolability of human life. Because the association has refused to reverse its policy on euthanasia, the No longer Catholic doctrinal congregation was left with “no choice” but to order the homes to cease to identify as Catholic institu- tions. The Brothers of Charity were informed of the Vati¬- can decision in a letter dated 30 March, which stressed that the ruling was the re- sult of “the total refusal” to fol¬low church teaching. In March 2017, the asso¬- ciation announced it would harmonise practice with the 2003 Belgian law on eutha¬- nasia, which now permits the killing of patients with “unbearable” psychiatric conditions. The policy conflicted with both the public position on euthanasia of the brothers and also of the Belgian bish- ops, and the association was asked to change it but re- fused. In June 2017 Brother Stockman appealed to the Vatican to intervene to re- ¾ ¾ Simon Caldwell verse the association policy, and the Vatican opened an investigation. According to the doctri- nal congregation letter, there were “numerous meetings” between the parties from June 2017 to July 2019, with the Vat- ican – citing the teachings of St John Paul II and Pope Fran- cis in particular – made clear the church held euthanasia to be an “inadmissible act.” The letter said the Vatican asked for written assurances that the association accept- ed the “unacceptability of euthanasia.” The association consistently and publicly re- jected appeals to conform to the wishes of the brothers and the Vatican. The associ- ation ignored, for instance, a motion passed by the gen- eral chapter of the brothers in July 2018 upholding the “sacredness and the absolute respect of all human life, from conception to natural death” and requiring “every brother, associate member, and others associated with the mission of the congregation to adhere to the doctrine of the Catholic Church on ethical issues.” The Brothers of Charity was founded in 1807 in Ghent, Belgium, with a charismespe- cially to serve the elderly and the mentally ill. The group is today considered the most important provider of men- tal health care services in the Flanders region of Belgium, serving 5,000 patients a year. - CNS The brothers had ‘no choice but to remain faithful’ to their ‘charism of charity, which cannot be reconciled with the practice of euthanasia on psychiatric patients’. Brother Rene Stockman NEWS