{"id":6944,"date":"2014-07-15T21:14:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T21:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/bishop-calls-for-united-prayer-to-stop-uk-euthanasia-bill-95230\/"},"modified":"2014-07-15T21:14:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T21:14:00","slug":"bishop-calls-for-united-prayer-to-stop-uk-euthanasia-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/07\/bishop-calls-for-united-prayer-to-stop-uk-euthanasia-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop calls for united prayer to stop UK euthanasia bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Portsmouth, England, Jul 15, 2014 \/ 03:14 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Warning that a proposed euthanasia bill for parts of the U.K. would mark the \u201ccatastrophic collapse\u201d of respect for life, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, England, is urging a day of united prayer against it.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Egan asked Catholics to pray a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday, July 17, the day before the bill\u2019s second reading in the House of Lords.<\/p>\n

\t\u201c(P)lease pray that Parliament will firmly reject this bill,\u201d the bishop said July 14.<\/p>\n

\tThe proposed bill would change the law in England and Wales, which presently punish assisted suicide by up to 14 years in prison. Introduced by Lord Falconer, a peer with the Labour Party, the legislation would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to seriously ill patients who request them and who are believed to have less than six months to live.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Egan said that legalizing assisted suicide would mean the \u201ccatastrophic collapse of respect for the infinite value of each human life and every human person, no matter how weak, vulnerable and \u2018useless\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe encouraged the Catholic faithful to write the peers of the House of Lords to oppose the bill. He also asked for prayers for the terminally ill and for \u201cthe generous and selfless doctors, nurses and medical staff who care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe bishop said that suicide is \u201ca grave offense against God\u201d because \u201cwe are the stewards, not the owners, of the life that God has entrusted to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOur life is not ours to dispose of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBishop Egan encouraged Catholics to pray for those who are dying today and for relatives who are caring for dying loved ones.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAnd pray for our country, that through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, there may be a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOther opponents of the bill include Theo Boer, a professor at The Netherlands\u2019 University of Utrecht who has monitored euthanasia deaths as part of a review committee in his home country since 2005.<\/p>\n

\tHe told Members of Parliament that he was \u201cwrong \u2013 terribly wrong\u201d to believe that regulated euthanasia would work, the British newspaper The Daily Mail reports.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cCases have been reported in which a large part of the suffering of those given euthanasia or assisted suicide consisted in being aged, lonely or bereaved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSome of these patients could have lived for years or decades. Pressure on doctors to conform to patients\u2019 \u2013 or in some cases relatives\u2019 \u2013 wishes can be intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said review committees had not been able to stop these developments.<\/p>\n

\tBoer voiced concern that euthanasia eligibility under Dutch law had been extended to the demented and the depressed. He also warned that some euthanasia advocates aim to make lethal pills available to anyone over 70 who wishes to die.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic bishops of England and Wales said that suicide should not be encouraged or assisted. The bill, they said, would reinforce pressures on the vulnerable to kill themselves and would remove the present law\u2019s deterrent effects.<\/p>\n

\tIn a June 25 briefing, the bishops cited Pope Francis\u2019 words to Catholics in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales: \u201cEven the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God\u2019s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe bishops endorsed \u201chigh quality care for the dying,\u201d rather than assisted suicide.<\/p>\n

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

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

Portsmouth, England, Jul 15, 2014 \/ 03:14 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Warning that a proposed euthanasia bill for parts of the U.K. would mark the “catastrophic collapse” of respect for life, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, England, is urging a …<\/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-6944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\nBishop calls for united prayer to stop UK euthanasia bill<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Portsmouth, England, Jul 15, 2014 \/ 03:14 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Warning that a proposed euthanasia bill for parts of the U.K. would mark the “catastrophic collapse” of respect for life, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, England, is urging a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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