SW News: The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have implored believers to begin a Nine Days of Prayer novena with the intercession of Pope Saint John Paul II to stop the 'Assisted Dying Bill' from being passed. A Second Reading of the controversial bill will be held in the House of Lords on October 22. If passed, the bill will allow terminally ill adults, who are expected to die within six months, to seek assisted suicide.
The prelates urged believers to commence the novena from Thursday, October 14, and seek the intercession of Pope St John Paul II and uphold the sanctity of each person's life. Lead Bishop for Life of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Bishop John Sherrington in a letter said that people having terminal illness should be shown compassion and should be treated with care and affection. He said, "Jesus told his disciples to pray at all times and not lose heart. Providentially the discussion of Baroness Meacher's Bill in the House of Lords falls on the feast of Saint John Paul II on October 22."
He also said, "The novena, asking the intercession of Pope Saint John Paul II, who spoke courageously about the infinite worth of each human person and witnessed to the cross in his final illness, calls upon Catholics and all who share our view that assisted suicide is wrong, to pray with perseverance that this Bill will be defeated."
The Assisted Dying Bill was introduced in 2021 in the House of Lord by Baroness Molly Meacher, Chair of Dignity in Dying. The bill is more or less identical to the 'Marris Bill' which was not passed in the House of Commons in 2015. The Assisting Dying Bill allows adults who are terminally ill and expected to die within six months to obtain permission to end their lives. They can opt for assisted suicide with one witness, two doctors, and a Judge of the High Court Division present for the action.
While opposing the bill, the prelates also emphasized that they "cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it.' They stressed that terminally ill patients need to be treated with love, compassion, dignity and be provided with high-quality end-of-life care.