Old Dominion’s Catholic bishops are calling on lawmakers to halt assisted suicide bills working their way through the state legislature. Bishops Michael Burbidge of the diocese of Arlington and Barry Knestout of the diocese of Richmond issued a statement last week warning against the moral and societal decay assisted suicide will usher in if legalized. “Every suicide is a tragedy‚” the bishops wrote. “Assisted suicide facilitates tragedies and makes the most vulnerable even more vulnerable. Legalizing it would place the lives of people with disabilities‚ people with mental illnesses‚ the elderly‚ and those unable to afford healthcare — among others — at heightened risk of deadly harm.” As floor debates on the legislation are imminent in the Virginia Senate and House‚ Burbidge and Knestout pointed to the harm already done in the states where assisted suicide is legal. “For example‚” the bishops said‚ “insurance companies have denied coverage for cancer treatment and other life-saving procedures but offered to pay for cheaper suicide drugs instead. And in Oregon‚ only 3.3 percent of the patients who died by assisted suicide since its legalization in 1998 were referred for psychiatric evaluation.” It is Christianity … which gives meaning and purpose to not only pain but also life and even death. Thus far‚ California‚ Colorado‚ Oregon‚ Vermont‚ New Mexico‚ Maine‚ New Jersey‚ Hawaii‚ Washington state‚ and Washington‚ D.C. legally permit euthanasia. Other nations also showcase the dystopian horrors of assisted suicide. In Canada‚ “Medical Assistance in Dying” was legalized in 2016 and has been rapidly expanded since then. Initially available only to those suffering terminal illness‚ euthanasia in Canada is now on offer to those suffering painful-but-curable diseases and disabilities‚ too. The ruling Liberal Party is pushing an expansion to allow for the assisted suicide of the mentally ill. In 2022‚ a healthcare worker suggested a Canadian military veteran euthanize himself when he sought assistance for his PTSD. The Catholic Church has long opposed euthanasia — for a whole host of reasons. The Catechism of the Catholic Church bluntly declares that euthanasia is “morally unacceptable.” It is also noted that the good intention of easing suffering does not mitigate the moral repugnance of euthanasia: “The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act‚ which must always be forbidden and excluded.” (READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: Discredited: Senators Question FBI on Anti-Catholic Richmond Memo) The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)‚ the Vatican’s doctrine office‚ explained in 1980 the fundamental issue with euthanasia‚ saying‚ “The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act‚ which must always be forbidden and excluded.” The CDF also clarified the antidote to the moral poison of euthanasia: “What a sick person needs‚ besides medical care‚ is love‚ the human and supernatural warmth with which the sick person can and ought to be surrounded by all those close to him or her‚ parents and children‚ doctors and nurses.” From a purely societal point of view‚ euthanasia’s chief danger is turning a seeming mercy into a convenience. What begins as offering an escape from pain and suffering quickly — as the examples of Canada and Australia evince with brutal vividness — descends into demanding an end to pain and suffering on any terms. It is no longer a matter of hastening one past excruciating pain and on to a certain and even an impending death‚ but offering death as a quick and easy way out of pain‚ no matter how long off death is. There is also‚ of course‚ a financial factor. It may be more convenient and even profitable to end a suffering family member’s life than to pay for an extended hospital and hospice stay; insurance companies certainly seem to think so. (READ MORE: Strangers in a Strange Land: The Catholic Church and Immigration) Christianity also has its answer to what C.S. Lewis called “the problem of pain.” Again‚ the CDF explained‚ “According to Christian teaching … suffering‚ especially suffering during the last moments of life‚ has a special place in God’s saving plan; it is in fact a sharing in Christ’s passion and a union with the redeeming sacrifice which He offered in obedience to the Father’s will.” Addressing suffering‚ Lewis explained‚ in terms more salt-of-the-earth: We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures‚ speaks in our conscience‚ but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world … No doubt pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul. In short‚ suffering serves a purpose for the soul. Even the secular world may conclude that euthanasia’s promise of mercy is quickly soured‚ but‚ since it ignores or denies the reality of the soul‚ is still left with the problem of pain. It is Christianity — and in particular Christ’s suffering and death on the cross — which gives meaning and purpose to not only pain but also life and even death. To that end‚ Virginia’s bishops have asked the faithful of their dioceses to sign a petition to state legislators expressing their opposition to legalized assisted suicide. The post Virginia’s Bishops Speak Out Against Euthanasia appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.