catholicweekly.com.au 11 28, June, 2020 members be admitted, pre- venting the hospice frombe- coming a Christian organisa- tion. Just as they did almost 500 years ago, the courts once again abolished the sanctuary to be found in Christianity. Closer to home, a similar result occurred in New Zea- land’s High Court. Our Kiwi neighbours are set to vote in a referendum later this year about whether euthana- sia should be allowed in that country. In order to make it clear to voters what they would be vot- ing for, a number of hospices sought clarity from the courts about whether they – like Del- ta Hospice – would be forced to offer euthanasia to their pa- tients. The court ruled that while a hospice could not be forced to provide any service, including euthanasia, there was nothing to prevent a government au- thority fromusing health care funding to only support those facilities that provided both euthanasia and palliative care. It is alarming when govern- ments use the threat of with- drawing health care funding to coerce places that want to provide health care, and only health care, to its patients. It is evenmore alarming when courts say that this is well within the bounds of the law. But we have seen it hap- pen twice in the space of a week. It is clear that there is noth- ing in the law to stop the situa- tion that is occurring in British Columbia from occurring in New Zealand. The only difference is polit- ical: New Zealanders still have the chance to vote on this. Please God they will be horri- fied at the thought of the per- vasive intent of euthanasia ad- vocates, and vote against this next instalment in the culture of death. Culture of Death’s bully boy tactics I n centuries of old, churches and other plac- es of worship were loca- tions where those flee- ing from the law could claim sanctuary: a place of refuge to escape justice or – at times – injustice. While the official law of sanctuary has long been abol- ished, its spirit has emerged in recent weeks, with a Cana- dian hospice trying to seek sanctuary within the Christian health system to save itself, and its patients, fromCanada’s ever-expanding euthanasia regime. Delta Hospice is a small, 10-bed facility in British Co- lumbia, the westernmost province of Canada. It de- scribes its services as being “based upon the principles of hospice and palliative care for the person in care and their loved ones.” The hospice does not allow euthanasia on its premises be- cause its board of directors be- lieve that lethal injections are incompatible with its services and the philosophy of good end-of-life care. Moreover, the hospice deems the provision of eutha- nasia to be unnecessary, be- cause euthanasia is available at Delta Hospital, which is just 400 metres away, and patients seeking euthanasia could easi- ly be transferred there to die. Delta Hospice is not a Cath- olic or even a Christian facil- ity. It is in fact the only non- faith based facility that does not offer euthanasia. This is where its prob- lems began, because the local health regulator, Fraser Health Authority, requires all non- faith based hospices and hos- pitals to provide euthanasia. It is so committed to this goal that when this little hos- pice sought to resist by offer- ing to transfer patients who wanted euthanasia to the large hospital next door, the health authority imposed a specific rule to prevent patient transfer for euthanasia. At this point, it became clear that Fraser Health Au- thority’s push was not about patient access, but about im- posing an ideology on all care providers. The health author- ity gave the hospice until Feb- ruary of this year to comply, warning of “consequences” – including a withdrawal of funding – if it failed to do so. The hospice tried to be conciliatory, offering to give up half of its $1.5 million an- nual government funding if it would be allowed to continue providing life-affirming end- of-life care, but the health au- thority refused, and the hos- pice was notified that all of its funding would be gone within a year. The cynical move was crit- icised by the hospice’s direc- tors, who pointed out that the health authority had a fi- nancial incentive to push eu- thanasia, which costs around A$530, over the provision of palliative care, which costs around A$1380 a day. In a last ditch effort to pre- serve its ethos and protect its patients and staff frombeing in a death-dealing environ- ment, the board sought to amend its constitution to be- come a Christian organisation that furthers Biblical princi- ples, including the sanctity of life. In advance of a meeting of members to vote on the proposal, euthanasia activ- ists flooded the hospice with membership applications, seeking to branch stack and affect the outcome. The hospice rejected the applications as a thinly-veiled attempt to thwart their plans, but a court insisted that all the A small palliative care hospice in Canada has made a seemingly fatal mistake: refusing to kill its patients. Canadian example shows just how inclusive and respectful the euthanasia lobby really is T o the point with Monica Doumit It is alarming when gov- ernments use the threat of withdrawing health care funding to coerce places that want to provide health care, and only health care, to its patients.” Rev Professor Mark R. Francis, CSV, President of the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, will visit Australia virtually this July to explore the fascinating interaction between liturgy and culture. Learn about Liturgy and Culturewith a world-expert Liturgical Inculturation Professional Learning Seminar 6, 7, 9, 10 July 2020 | 9am-12.30pmAEST Join lectures and discussions led by Professor Francis on topics such as the cultural evolution of the liturgy, inculturation in Australia, and Pope Francis’ insights on culture and the liturgy. The seminar can serve as PD hours for teachers. Register here: www.acu.edu.au/LitIncultSemFrancis Free Public Lecture: The Challenge of Intercultural Liturgy in the Era of Pope Francis 20 July | 10-11.30amAEST Registration is essential by 15 July at: www.acu.edu.au/LectureFrancis Contact and more information www.acu.edu.au/CentreforLiturgy
[email protected] 02 9701 4751 The ACU Centre for Liturgy is pleased to host this renowned expert in liturgical inculturation and author of Local Worship, Global Church: Popular Religion and the Liturgy. All events will be hosted live via Zoom.