The Catholic Church in England and Wales has reaffirmed its opposition to assisted suicide and urged believers to pray for members of the House of Lords, currently debating the controversial proposal.
The Terminally Ill (Adults) End of Life Bill passed the House of Commons last year, but has not been approved by the Lords. As things stand, the bill is expected to fail after the government said it would not permit any more parliamentary time to be devoted to the Private Members Bill.
Last week, Right to Life CEO, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, said the bill was effectively “dead” after scrutiny found the bill to be neither “safe or workable”.
Now the Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Reverend John Sherrington, who speaks for the Church on “life issues” has spoken of the dangers presented by the bill, raising particular concerns about the implications for Christian end-of-life care providers.
“This bill is wrong in principle as assisted suicide is the direct taking of life. In practice, the bill is a threat to truly compassionate care at the end of life," he said.
"In its current form, it would require Christian hospices and care homes to co-operate with the act of assisted suicide.
"The conscience clauses are also woefully inadequate. Moreover, as many voices have articulated in the debate, and as has been seen in other countries, assisted suicide will put the lives of the vulnerable at risk.”
It has previously been suggested that should Christian care homes be required by law to offer assisted suicide, many would simply close down rather than comply, exacerbating the already poor state of end-of-life care in Britain.
Bishop Sherrington also urged prayer for those suffering at the end of their lives and for those deliberating on the issue of assisted suicide in Parliament.
“We are facing the threat of a profound change in our culture which would happen if assisted suicide were to be legalised. I urge you to pray for parliamentarians who continue to consider this matter," he said.
The Catholic Church will be holding a “Holy Hour for the dignity of life” on 19 April at 4:30pm, with the aim being to "unite and pray for the promotion of a culture of life".
