“Our once great western Christian civilization is dying. If this matters to followers of Jesus Christ, then we must set aside our denominational differences and work together to strengthen the things that remain and reclaim what has been lost. Evangelicals and Catholics must stand together to re-establish that former Christian culture and moral consensus. We have the numbers and the organization but the question is this: Do we have the will to win this present spiritual battle for Jesus Christ against secularism? Will we prayerfully and cooperatively work toward a new Christian spiritual revival ― or will we choose to hunker down in our churches and denominationalisms and watch everything sink into the spiritual and moral abyss of a New Dark Age?” - Mark Davis Pickup

Sunday, October 1, 2017

PLEASE POPE FRANCIS! SPEAK AGAINST CANADA'S MEDICALLY ASSISTED SUICIDE!

Before Canada legalized medically assisted suicide of sick and disabled Canadians in June of 2016, I wrote to the Vatican appealing to Pope Francis to denounce the Liberal government’s assisted suicide law intentions (I posted the text of that letter on the HumanLifeMatters blog. (http://www.humanlifematters.org/2016/03/an-open-letter-to-pope-francis.html

I stated that Catholic physicians and nurses would be pressured and ultimately compelled to kill patients or refer to physicians willing to kill them.[1] That is happening. I told the Pontiff that Canadian Catholic hospitals will eventually face coercion and financial penalties if they refuse to participate. Hundreds upon hundreds of incurably ill and disabled people have been euthanized since that letter. Pressure and secular bioethical pressure began even before the law changed. One overly enthusiastic Canadian columnist jumped the gun 4 months before medical assisted suicide was legalized and started advocating that Catholic hospital’s that do not provide assisted suicide should not receive government funding. [2]

Many Catholic and other Christian doctors are now considering
retiring early. Others are considering moving away from Canada to American jurisdictions that still respect and protect religious freedoms and conscience. The United states stands to recruit our best physicians while Canadians who are incurable ill and/or disabled (like me) may be left with the killer doctors. 

Pope Francis needs to speak up and appeal to Canada to encourage the best up-to-date palliative care rather than death. He must encourage Canadian Catholics (doctors, nurses, and patients) to seek treatments that conform to Catholic teaching and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2276-2282). Families of vulnerable and suicidal sick and disabled people must resist pressures to opt for medically assisted suicide (or any suicide) and show their loved-ones they are loved, valued and needed -- even in their last days.

It was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's majority government that passed the assisted suicide law. Justin Trudeau is Catholic. He must
be called upon to behave Catholic and promote proper palliative care and suicide prevention services to vulnerable sick and disabled Canadians and ensure health care professionals are not forced to kill patients or complicit in medical killing, or lose their jobs.

Please Pope Francis, speak against Canada's legalized medically assisted suicide!

Mark Davis Pickup
________________
Notes:

[1]  Julian Savulescur and Udo Schuklenk, "Doctors have no right to refuse medical assistance in dying, abortion or contraception" 22 September 2016, Bioethics .  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bioe.12288/full
[2] Paula Simons, “If Covenant Health won’t obey law, it shouldn’t get public funds to run public hospitals, Edmonton Journal, 13 February, 2016.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I believe that we are all responsible for the culture of death in our society. We have brought this upon ourselves through a contraceptive mentality which has led to all the evils predicted by Pope Paul VI. We pray for an end but we continue with our mindset.