OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
PASTORAL LETTER ON EUTHANASIA
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, There is a story told about a music teacher who would have an annual recital with all of her students. She would choose a piece for them to play and then ask them to spend more time practising the finale. When the students asked why they needed to do this she stated that “you can make a mistake at the start of your piece, or in the middle, but if you make the ending glorious everyone will forget the mistakes.” It seems that at this point in time Canadian society is focused on “endings” especially the end of life. This is seen very clearly in the current debate regarding euthanasia where significant mistakes may be made. The General Assembly of Quebec has recently passed a Bill that will allow a doctor to take the life of a terminally ill patient who consents to the action. The Bill uses the phrase, “medical aid in dying”. Using this expression is an attempt to confuse the issue by implying that medical aid can be used to end a life when typically it is used to heal or to alleviate pain. Language is important and clearly the Bill is about legalizing euthanasia which is defined as the deliberate killing of someone who is very sick to eliminate all suffering (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). A great deal of the discussion around euthanasia is framed by the concepts of compassion and dignity. When someone is suffering we are called to be compassionate and this is often defined as doing something to stop the suffering. This is a characteristic of compassion but not its essence. The Latin root of the word means to “suffer with”. Those who advocate for euthanasia often limit compassion reducing it to simply alleviating pain and suffering. I am compassionate when I feel with the person their pain and suffering and support them in love reminding them that they are not alone and that someone does care about them. A significant part of that support is pain management. Palliative care is about relieving pain and giving the person the best quality of life. A compassionate person will ensure that a person who is suffering receives palliative care. Here the focus is on life not death. Dying with dignity is a good that everyone would naturally desire; however, people understand the term differently. Those who support euthanasia would argue that dignity is found in giving people the right to choose life or death. Dignity is not simply about control; it is about care. A good deal of support for euthanasia comes from those who naturally fear suffering and a loss of dignity. Palliative care helps allay those fears by controlling pain and providing emotional support in a warm and loving environment. It is also important to remember that persons receiving care are not obliged to seek treatment when it is of no benefit, or when the burdens resulting from treatment are clearly disproportionate to the benefits hoped for or obtained. This also respects the person’s dignity as treatment is not forced on them. Ever since the beginning of the debate regarding abortion, the term “right to life” has been associated with those who reject abortion. Now as we begin the debate on euthanasia, a new term has emerged. Many are now arguing that we have a right to die and that right should be enshrined in law. So those who embrace euthanasia would be part of the “right to die movement”. Many recent polls have asked, “Do you believe a gravely ill person should have the right to die? It is a sad testament to the state of moral affairs in this country when those lives in the womb do not have a “legal right” to life and others could have a “legal right” to die. Is this another sign of what Pope St. John Paul II called a culture of death? Are we for life or for death? As people of faith we must engage our culture and help them to see that choosing death is never a solution. Death will come to us all but not by choice. God will call us home and give us the grace to prepare. I came to understand this reality a number of years ago when I was called to the hospital to anoint a man who was near death. The man’s wife came to see me the next day to inform me that her husband had died. She said that he had seemed agitated for a number of days but became very peaceful after he had received the Sacrament of the Sick. She believed that while in the hospital God had given her husband the time needed to spiritually prepare for his death and when he was ready, God called him home. She felt blessed to be able to be with him in this sacred process of preparation. There is something deeply profound in journeying with the terminally ill person as they wait to be called home by our loving Shepherd. We help them prepare for the greatest journey of their lives from this world to the next. This is the essence of palliative care. On September 30th the Bishops of Canada together with the Catholic Organization for Life and Family launched a national educational program against euthanasia and assisted suicide. It is entitled, “Life-Giving Love: A National Campaign for Palliative and Home Care”. The program document states, “We can all help to build a Culture of Life by taking care of others when they are in need, by advocating or promoting measures designed to support life " such as good palliative care or home care " and by denouncing euthanasia and assisted suicide…symptoms of a culture of death. Let us be instruments of life-giving love.” In the coming weeks material will be made available to you through your parishes regarding this campaign. A Catholic perspective gives us a compass to guide us through the many complex end-of life-issues we face today. Our faith teaches us that all life is sacred and that it is never permissible to take a person’s life or to assist them in taking their own life. We also know that to suffer with the person is true compassion and this motivates us to do all that is medically possible to alleviate the physical pain. Rather than support a right to die let us support a right to care for the person that brings meaning, love and life. This is the glorious ending that we all pray for. May Mary our Blessed Mother and our patroness St. Catherine of Alexandria pray for us.Yours sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Gerard Bergie, D.D.
Bishop of St. Catharines