Border bishops ‘filled with mourning’ over deaths of migrants

Caracas, Venezuela, Jul 12, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- The Venezuelan bishops asked Thursday that president Nicolas Maduro resign from the office which he “illegitimately” exercises and that a new president be elected in the shortest time possible.

“In face of the reality of an illegitimate and failed government, Venezuela is crying out for a change of direction, a return to the Constitution. That change demands the departure of the one exercising power illegitimately and the election in the shortest possible time of a new president of the republic,” the bishops said in their July 11 apostolic exhortation, released at the end of their general assembly.

Under Maduro’s socialist administration, Venezuela has been marred by violence and social upheaval, with severe shortages of food and medicine, high unemployment, and hyperinflation. More than 4 million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2015.

The bishops cited a July 4 report from the UN human rights commissioner which said the government has committed a variety of human rights abuses, including a high number of extrajudicial killings.

The bishops maintained that “examples of these violations of the rule of law are the recent actions by state agencies which led to the death of Light Cruiser Captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo and young Rufo Chacón’s loss of his sight, incidents that have already been strongly condemned by the Justice and Peace Commission.”

They also pointed to “the exodus of more than 12% of the Venezuelan population” due to “the political situation, the impoverishment of the middle class, and contempt for the poor.”

Faced with this crisis, with the moral deterioration of society, violence, lies, corruption, irresponsibility and despair, the bishops reiterated that a profound change is necessary that requires the departure of the current regime and that a new president be elected.

They added that for the elections to be free, indispensable conditions are “a new, impartial National Electoral Council,” international oversight; and the end of the Constituent Assembly, among other measures.

They also called for the entry and distribution of food and medicine to attend to the population, hard-hit for several years by shortages. They said that the Church, through its institutions, “ renews its commitment to participate, along with other organizations, in the reception and distribution of this humanitarian aid.”

The bishops reminded the armed forces, police, and public ministry of their duty “to work in conformity with justice and truth and not at the service of a political bias.”

They said that in order to contribute to national renewal “we reiterate our commitment as a Church to continue to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ who heals and liberates, and bringing hope to our people, through the development of training and organizational programs that will enable the defense of human rights , the recovery of democratic institutions, and the peaceful reconstruction of the country.”

The bishops thanked the priests, religious, and laity who are working hard “to maintain a living hope and to take the evangelization of the Venezuelan to a deeper level,” as well as to serve the most vulnerable.

Finally, they reiterated their call to continue to pray for Venezuela and to “work with confidence for the welfare of our country. God is our help! We ask the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto for this noble cause.”

Maduro was sworn in for a second term as president Jan. 10, after winning a contested election in which oppositon candidates were barred from running or imprisoned. Venezuela’s bishops have called his new term illegitimate, and Juan Guaidó, head of the opposition-controlled legislature the National Assembly, declared himself interim president Jan. 23.

Guaidó has been recognized by a number of Western governments, but has been largely unable to secure the support of Venezuela’s military. He has pledged a transitional government and free elections.

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Ottawa, Canada, May 11, 2019 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Canadian members of parliament are attempting to pass a law that would protect the conscience rights of doctors as the government looks to expand access to euthanasia in the country.

Conservative MP David Anderson (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, Saskatchewan) introduced bill C-418 in October as a private member’s bill, seeking to protect medical practitioners unwilling to euthanize their patients or provide referrals for medically induced deaths.

Anderson told CNA that he was inspired to submit the bill after hearing complaints from doctors that Canada’s MAID policies were a violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

“One of that oath is ‘we will not administer poison,’” Anderson told CNA in an interview. “So it’s clear, right? And yet, now the medical system is expected to be the ones who actually administer these drugs that terminate people’s lives.”

The legislation would make it illegal to “intimidate a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, pharmacist or any other health care professional for the purpose of compelling them to take part, directly or indirectly, in the provision of medical assistance in dying.”

The bill would also make it an offence to fire someone for refusing to take part in “medical assistance in dying” (MAID). Canada’s healthcare system is government-run, tying doctors working conditions and practice closely to ministerial policy.

Last year, 1.12 percent of all deaths in Canada were as a result of MAID. Although Canadians have an option to self-administer the drugs to end their lives, only a single person chose this option.

Anderson told CNA that he is concerned that MAID, coupled with Canada’s aging population and increasingly expensive healthcare system could result in dehumanization.

Presently in Canada, women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of disability are “encouraged to abort (their preborn child) so they’re not part of our medical system beyond that one event,” said Anderson. The MP is worried that this attitude could be expanded to view the elderly and persons with disabilities as unnecessarily expensive costs to the healthcare system.

“Certainly, seniors, disabled people cost the system more than the healthy people do,” said Anderson. “You can see people justifying assisted suicide, euthanasia in the future in order to save money, and we don’t want to get to that point.”

Right now, Anderson said that there are posters in hospitals that explain MAID, and who can request that their doctor end their life. He told CNA that he thinks this is “entirely inappropriate,” and that people “shouldn’t go into the hospital in order to facilitate (their) death.”

Currently, only those who are over the age of 18, have been deemed to be “mentally competent,” and have been diagnosed with a terminal physical illness are eligible to receive MAID.

But these restrictions could be changed, Conservative MP Michael Cooper of St. Albert-Edmonton warned CNA.

The existing MAID policy that was passed into law is “far more limited” than the version originally recommended by the joint legislative committee, said Cooper.

“My concern at this point in time is that the limited safeguards that have been put in place–namely that it’s got to be a competent adult person, that there needs to be two physicians or two nurse practitioners, the fact that it can only apply in the case of a physical illness as opposed to a mental illness, and the fact that consent must be contemporaneous with the carrying out of the death of the patient,” said Cooper.

“All of that now is potentially on the table to be opened up, whereby there would be virtually no safeguards in place.”

Potential changes being considered, Cooper explained, include allowing those with mental illnesses as well as “mature minors” to request MAID, and the creation of an “advanced directive” whereby a person can give instructs for their own death as a contingency plan.

“At this point, there has been no indication that further changes to the law are going to be made,” said Cooper. “But I’m not optimistic that over the long term that won’t be the case.”

Both Cooper and Anderson expressed concern about the state of palliative care in Canada as a result of the MAID law and a lack of clear conscience rights for doctors.

“We do have a strong palliative care community in Canada, who have been encouraging governments to really commit to that,” said Anderson. “One of the things that concerns me is that I’m hearing about doctors who have been involved in palliative care in the past who are shutting down their practices because of the threat of being forced to participate in assisted suicide.”

This results in fewer palliative care doctors in Canada, “in a time when we probably should be encouraging it and strengthening it.”

“This government has basically window-dressed when it comes to palliative care,” said Cooper, the Albertan MP. “There’s very little movement on the palliative care front.”

Cooper told CNA that he thinks it “essential” that palliative care be expanded in Canada and that it is not currently available to most Canadians, a problem he said predates the passage of MAID.

“Absent palliative care, many individuals may feel there is no other choice but to go down the road of physician assisted dying, or may even feel pressure from family members or friends who may be otherwise in a position of looking after them,” said Cooper.

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Montreal, Canada, Mar 21, 2019 / 03:32 pm (CNA).- Montreal’s City Hall doesn’t need Christ, officials have said.

A crucifix that has hung on the wall of Montreal’s City Hall since 1937, reminding city officials to let God guide their decisions, will be taken down for a renovation project, never to be put back, local sources have reported.

City councilor Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde made the announcement at an executive council meeting this week.

“The crucifix was installed during an era that was completely different than the one we live in today,” Lavigne-Lalonde told the council, according to CTV News Montreal.

“We now live in a society that has evolved and is represented by democratic institutions that must be secular, neutral and open to all citizens,” Lavigne-Lalonde added.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante agreed.

“I truly believe and based on all the discussion that has been done in the past, that it doesn’t have to be in city council where it is a secular institution. This is a place where we make decisions and it was originally put there to support decision making,” she said at the meeting. “I think we’re in a very different time now.”

Plante added that the decision is a “recognition of the role of secularism in the institution, and for me, there is a stark distinction between individual and institutional secularism,” she said, according to the CBC.

City officials also said they will be removing another crucifix that is hung in a different room in city hall.

After the decision was announced, the Archdiocese of Montreal issued a statement saying that the crucifix is a symbol of the Christian roots of Canada and doesn’t need to be removed in a religiously pluralistic society.

“As a sign revered by Christians, the crucifix remains a living symbol. It symbolizes openness and respect toward all peoples, including toward other faith communities and religious traditions, which rightfully adhere to their own signs and symbols,” Archbishop Christian Lépine said in his statement. “Nevertheless, nothing forbids us, and our respective beliefs, from being present in the public space in an attitude of respect and openness, since we share the same common humanity,” he added.
 
“When it comes to transmitting spiritual and communal values in a spirit of togetherness and solidarity, the crucifix is laden with meaning, expressing and encapsulating what fortifies the population of Montreal since its foundation, a legacy of which we can be proud.”

Issues of religious freedom and the display of religious symbols have been prominent issues in Canada recently, and Montreal’s decision brought up an ongoing debate about the crucifix that hangs in the legislature building of Quebec. According to the CBC, Premier François Legault of Quebec has previously defended the crucifix’s place in the province’s National Assembly, even while he backed a bill that would have banned the wearing of religious symbols by civil authorities, such as cross necklaces or hijabs. The bill was recently tabled by the legislature.

But after the Montreal decision, he balked: “There are good arguments for and some arguments against, and right now we have a debate. We have to find a compromise,” Legault told CBC. “I accept the decision of the City of Montreal.”

Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette of Quebec, who backed the religious symbols bill, told CTV News that the National Assembly does not have to follow the decision of Montreal to remove their crucifix.

“They can do what they want about that. The National Assembly has always decided to maintain (the crucifix) and that’s the position of the government because it’s a (historical) symbol,” he said.

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