Montreal archbishop fights Quebec mandate to recommend euthanasia

A Canadian archbishop is doing it The legal case is that Catholic institutions that care for the sick and dying should be exempt from laws that aid in suicide.

The province of Quebec passed a law in December requiring all palliative care homes to offer “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD), which is legal across Canada. The law violates religious freedom and should be declared unconstitutional, according to a legal complaint filed by the Archdiocese of Montreal.

“The consequences of this new law are that actions that we find morally unacceptable may take place on our property,” Archbishop Christian Lepin said in a statement on February 6.

In the middle of the case, the care home of St. Raphael in Montreal was converted into a church structure. a place where patients near death can receive free palliative care.

“Archbishop, assisted Œuvres de charité de l'Archevêque catholique Romain de Montreal (Charities of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal), together with Catholic donors and volunteers, welcomed, encouraged and supported the conversion of the former St. Raphael Archangel Church in Montreal into a 12-bed and palliative care home. day center,” Lepine said. “The project was in response to the wishes of the parishioners and their late parish priest, Father Gerry Sinel, who dedicated many years of his life as a priest to those near the end of his life until his death in 2007.”

The Œuvres de charity de l'Archevêque granted the right to use the former church site to a public organization created for the palliative care home project, which opened in 2019.

“In accordance with the intentions of the Founders and our Catholic beliefs and values, Œuvres de charity de l'Archevêque the lease specifically states that the former church is to serve only the mission of palliative care,” the archbishop's statement said, “and that 'medical aid in dying' is not to be performed on the premises.”

A Montreal newspaper said St. Raphael had an agreement with the regional health department that allowed patients who requested assisted death to be transferred to a public health facility.

“But in September, less than three months before the law took effect, St. Raphael requested an exemption, a lawsuit that was rejected by Quebec's minister responsible for seniors, Sonia Bélanger,” the newspaper explained.