Archbishop Cushley has sent a pastoral letter to all parishes in his Archdiocese in which he opposes efforts to legalise assisted suicide stating that it would ‘send a message across the whole of society’ that lives which entail suffering are not worth living.
The letter, in response to the Scottish Parliament considering the legalisation by MSP Liam McArthur to introduce assisted suicide, was read out at Masses today.
“In Canada euthanasia was legalised in 2016 with strict limits, applying only to adults who are terminally ill and in exceptional physical pain,” Archbishop Cushley said.
“Yet within just five years it has been extended to include those with chronic illness or disabilities.”
Archbishop Cushley also cited Belgium and the Netherlands as examples, where euthanasia has been widened to include ‘people suffering from mental illness and, most alarmingly, this can even apply to teenagers and children.’
The Archbishop said that those who are frail and elderly who can easily think they are a burden on others ‘may feel pressured into asking for help to end their lives.’
He concluded by urging Catholics to oppose the legislation ‘as a matter of Christian duty’ by ‘signing the petition in your Church.’