Assisted Suicide
March
February
Update: very serious allegations of bias by the committee examining the Bill have arisen. These allegations are disturbing and if true (and we have no reason to doubt them) then they make a mockery of democracy and justice.
Please go to https://righttolife.org.uk/asbillaction . Please read the text and if you are as disturbed by these allegations as we are then please sign the petition. If enough of us protest about the abominable way this Bill is being pushed through then they can't ignore us so easily. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (original author uncertain).
January
This is taken from an email from Right To Life. Please support them as much as you can:
As of 28th January 2025 the assisted suicide Bill is at the Committee Stage in Parliament, where a group of 23 MPs will examine the Bill in detail.
It is very important that the many risks and flaws with the Bill are brought to the attention of the Committee. By highlighting these concerns, we will help MPs understand the major problems with introducing assisted suicide and why they must vote against the Bill when it comes to Third Reading later in the year.
TAKE ACTION
The Committee has recently issued a call for written evidence. It is inviting people with relevant expertise or personal experience to submit evidence about the Bill and its proposals.
The Committee will begin considering evidence on 28 January.
If you have the appropriate expertise or personal experience, it is really important that you submit evidence.
While there is no deadline for submitting evidence, we strongly advise doing so as soon as you can.
To find out if you fit the criteria to make a submission and learn how to make your submission, click the link below to access our guide on how to make a submission.
If you do not fit the criteria to submit evidence, there will be many more opportunities to help with ensuring this dangerous Bill is defeated at Third Reading.
What you can do to help now is to forward this link https://righttolife.org.uk/SubmissionGuide on to anyone with relevant expertise or personal experience who is concerned about the Bill and encourage them to make a submission. If you need more information about identifying those who might qualify, the submission guide linked above provides further details.
Thought for the Week - Week Beginning 3rd March 2025
I have recently been separated from my diary this week and there is no sign of an immediate reunion. I am coping by using a combination of memory, guesswork and other people’s understanding and patience. I hope I have not missed too many appointments to date. I am sure it will turn up sooner or later but, in the meantime, I am using a temporary diary.
One of my favourite feast days is St David’s day which is celebrated on 1st March. This year however it coincided with the Diocesan Synod “Voting Day” held in Thornleigh College in Bolton which meant that we could not celebrate a public Mass that day. I settled for an early morning private Mass with Deacon Theo instead. Some of the things I like about St David include him being a renowned preacher and going on to found many monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Brittany and South West England. St David and his monks lived a very simple life, ploughing the fields by hand and taking no beer or meat. St David lived largely off water and leeks, so was known as the “water drinker”. One miraculous occurrence happened when he was preaching to a large crowd in Llanddewi Brefi and some at the back of the crowd complained that they could not hear St David, so the ground he was standing on rose to form a hill and a dove came to rest on his shoulder, surely a sign of God’s presence. Most statues and images of St David depict him with a dove on his shoulder. His final words were said to be; “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things you have heard and seen me do” To this day a popular phrase in Welsh means to “do the little things well”.
It was a privilege to be part of the Synod voting day and its findings will shortly be made available. I am very grateful to Lynne and Sam, our parish Synod reps for their heard work and commitment to the process which I feel has been an enlightening time for the parish and the Diocese. The voting system used was very quick and efficient and was done using up to date technology. Requiring less than 15 minutes for each of the four rounds of voting, the results appeared immediately in the form of a colourful “pie chart” which was most impressive. As with most Diocesan occasions, the event allowed time to meet up with priests and people from across the Diocese. One of the delegates present was from my first parish as parish priest in Oldham and I had not seen him for over 25 years.
We are now into the holy season of Lent which began on Wednesday. Although it is a penitential season, the Gospel from Ash Wednesday
challenges us to strive to be joyful throughout this season. As we head towards Good Friday and the joy of Easter beyond, may we use our Lenten disciplines to unite us more fully to Christ and if we sincerely do this, then we will surely fine joy. Perhaps St David can guide us through our Lenten journey urging us to do all the little things well..
Sincere thanks for reading this reflection, which I hope you find helpful.
Fr David
or click below for:
Assisted Suicide -
Disappointly, the death bill was passed today (29th November 2024) by Parliament but with a much smaller majority than many expected.
However, this insidious, immoral, wrong-headed Bill still has a long way to go through the House of Commons and then the House of Lords -
The fight isn't over - we'll publish the next steps you can take to oppose this dreadful Bill as soon as they become known; watch this space!
Meanwhile you might like to see actor and disability rights advocate Liz Carr's BBC documentary on assisted suicide, Better Off Dead? You can watch it for free by clicking the link below (you do not need a TV licence). It might give you some ideas about what you'd like to say to Oliver Ryan.
Better Off Dead?
