{"id":21970,"date":"2017-09-12T16:38:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T16:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia-97406\/"},"modified":"2017-09-12T16:38:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T16:38:00","slug":"defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/","title":{"rendered":"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doing so.<\/p>\n

The \u201cBroeders van Liefde\u201d board had been given until the end of August to comply with the Vatican order<\/a>, which was seen and approved by Pope Francis. Brothers of the order were also asked to sign a joint letter to their general superior, Brother Ren\u00e9 Stockman, confirming their adherence to Church teaching.<\/p>\n

In a Sept. 12 statement<\/a> the organization defied the Vatican request and said it \u201ccontinues to stand by its vision statement on euthanasia for mental suffering in a non-terminal situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it claims that in adhering to this vision, the organization \u201cis still consistent with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. We emphatically believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2277, states that<\/a>: \u201cWhatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brothers of Charity in Belgium run 15 psychiatric hospitals with 5,000 patients. The board controlling these institutions, which consists of a few Brothers but primarily of lay members, announced in the spring that they would permit euthanasia in their facilities.<\/p>\n

The board argued in their recent statement that their position \u201calways takes into account the shifts and evolutions within society\u201d, while also considering \u201crecognition of the exceptional, proportional view of ethics, deontological view and ideologization, and choice of conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

This view is not shared by the general superior of the order, Br. Rene Stockman, who initially went to the Vatican for help in the spring<\/a> when the board announced that it would start permitting euthanasia within the order\u2019s facilities.<\/p>\n

Previously, since the year 2000, the group had maintained a firm policy against euthanasia and how to cope with requests for it. Br. Stockman explained to CNA in August that the group would take requests for euthanasia seriously, and try to help the patient regain their desire for life, \u201cknowing of course that someone who is very depressive can have the tendency to ask for euthanasia.\u201d<\/p>\n

After doing everything possible to help alleviate any depression present in a patient, if the individual still requests euthanasia \u2013 which is legal in Belgium \u2013 the brothers would transfer them elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Br. Stockman added at the time that Belgium is a country in which secularization is very strong and euthanasia is legal and widely accepted, even among children, making the fight against it all the more difficult.<\/p>\n

It is expected that the Vatican will respond to the order\u2019s latest statement. As to the potential punitive measures Pope Francis might ponder, Professor Kurt Martens, a Belgian Catholic who teaches canon law at the Catholic University of America, told CNA Deutsch in an email interview Aug 14<\/a>: \u201cthe Brothers who are members of the board face dismissal from their institute \u2013 thus will no longer be brothers and members of the institute \u2013 and the health care institutions would forfeit their right to call themselves Catholic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\nDefying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Hospital_Credit_Unsplash_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/\",\"name\":\"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia","description":"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia","og_description":"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Hospital_Credit_Unsplash_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/","name":"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-12T16:38:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Brussels, Belgium, Sep 12, 2017 \/ 10:38 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The board of the Belgian Brothers of Charity announced Tuesday it will continue offering euthanasia to patients in their psychiatric centres, despite being ordered by the Vatican to stop doin...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/09\/defying-vatican-belgian-religious-brothers-will-continue-to-offer-euthanasia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Defying Vatican, Belgian religious brothers will continue to offer euthanasia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}