Pope Francis has given a Belgian religious order until the end of August to stop offering euthanasia to psychiatric patients.
Brother René Stockman, superior general of the order, said that the Pope gave his personal approval to a Vatican demand that the Brothers of Charity, which runs 15 centres for psychiatric patients across Belgium, must reverse its policy by the end of August.
Brothers who serve on the board of the Brothers of Charity Group, the organisation that runs the centres, must each sign a joint letter to their superior general declaring that they “fully support the vision of the magisterium of the Catholic Church, which has always confirmed that human life must be respected and protected in absolute terms, from the moment of conception till its natural end”.
Brothers who refuse to sign will face sanctions under canon law, while the group can expect to face legal action and even expulsion from the Church if it fails to change its policy.
The group, Brother Stockman added, must not consider euthanasia as a solution to human suffering under any circumstances.
The order, issued at the beginning of August, follows repeated requests for the group to drop its new policy of permitting doctors to perform the euthanasia of “non-terminal” mentally ill patients on its premises.
It also follows a joint investigation by the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Brother Stockman, who had opposed the euthanasia policy, told the Catholic News Service that the ultimatum was devised by the two congregations and has the support of the Pope.
“The Holy Father was formally informed about it and was also informed about the steps to be taken,” he said. Brother Stockman told CNS that if the group refused to bow to the ultimatum “then we will take juridical steps in order to force them to amend the text [of the new policy] and, if that is not possible, then we have to start the procedure to exclude the hospitals from the Brothers of Charity family and take away their Catholic identity.”
Kenya’s bishops appeal for unity
Catholic bishops have asked Kenya’s president to “heal and unite the country” after a wave of post-election violence.
Protests at the apparent victory of President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta have left at least 24 people dead. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has rejected the preliminary election results but observers say there is no evidence of centralised rigging.
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