Additionally, a rector at another Catholic university called on him to reconsider the Church's prohibition on ordaining women as priests.

The visit underscored the Church's deep challenges in one of Europe's most secular societies.

The pope's day started with a formal meeting with Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, followed by a conversation with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

De Croo did not shy away from addressing the Catholic Church's handling of clerical abuse.

He highlighted Belgium's troubled history, particularly the case of former Bishop Roger Vangheluwe who admitted to abusing minors, including two of his nephews.

"We cannot ignore the painful wounds that exist in the Catholic community and in civil society" De Croo told the pope. "Numerous cases of sexual abuse and forced adoptions have undermined trust."

He acknowledged Pope Francis's efforts but emphasised that the Church's path to justice remains a long one.

"Victims must be heard and injustices must be recognised" he added. De Croo then insisted that the Church must fully confront its past to move forward.

Abuse being addressed firmly

Pope Francis responded by reaffirming the Church's commitment to addressing clerical sexual abuse.

The pontiff called the abuse "a scourge that the Church is addressing firmly and decisively by listening to and accompanying those who have been wounded, and by implementing a prevention programme throughout the world".

Catholic University distances itself from the Pope's comments on women

Francis then got into trouble "on home soil" at a Catholic university over his remarks about women.

"What characterises women, that which is truly feminine, is not stipulated by consensus or ideologies" he said, adding that dignity is "ensured not by laws written on paper, but by an original law written on our hearts" said Francis at Belgium's UCLouvain University.

"A woman … is a daughter, a sister, a mother, just as a man is a son, a brother, a father" the pope said, emphasising that the Church is not structured like a civil corporation.

Shortly after Francis' comments and in an unusual move, Professors and students at the Catholic university sharply criticised the Pope's remarks.

In a strongly worded statement of disapproval, the University described Francis' views as "deterministic and reductive".

The university said the pope's language did not align with its views on gender equality.

"UCLouvain expresses its incomprehension and disapproval of the position expressed by Pope Francis regarding the role of women in the Church and in society" the university said.

"UCLouvain can only express its disagreement with this deterministic and reductive position."

The university's response marked a rare public rebuke of the pope by a Catholic institution.

Women priests

The incident follows Belgian officials also urging the Church to address and reconsider its ban on ordaining women as priests.

The Louvain university's rector, Luc Sels, urged the pope to restore the Church's moral authority and reconsider its ban on women priests.

"Would the Church not be a warmer community if there was a prominent place for women, including in the priesthood?" Sels asked.

The pope did not respond directly and has not advanced the issue.

Francis defends comments on women

On the pope's return flight from Brussels to Rome on Sunday afternoon, Katholisch.de reports Pope Francis defended his remarks at the Catholic University of Louvain about the fundamental differences between men and women in the Church.

Francis said it was inhumane to "masculinise" women.

"The Church is feminine; she is the bride of Christ. Therefore, the feminine in the Church is more important than the masculine" the pope said.

"Anyone who does not understand this is not thinking hard enough and does not want to hear these words.

"The woman is equal to the man and, in the life of the Church, the woman is more important because the Church is feminine.

"The feminine mysticism is more important than the ministry of men."

He added that these views are not outdated, noting that exaggerated feminism is as ineffective as masculinism.

Climate Change

The 87-year-old pope visited UCLouvain as part of the university's 600th anniversary celebrations. Although his speech primarily addressed climate change, he also responded to a letter from students and professors asking about the Church's position on women.

Sources

Crux Now

Crux Now

Reuters

Katholisch.de (report translated by AI.)

CathNews New Zealand

Francis defined bad compassion as the law not to let the child grow in the mother's womb or the law of euthanasia in disease and old age."

Clarifying, he added "I am not saying it is a faith thing, but it is a human thing."

Francis remained adamant that life should not be toyed with "either at its inception or its conclusion."

The Pope's remarks came as he was en route from Marseille to Rome, following a two-day visit to the southern French city.

France on verge of legalising assisted suicide

Francis' comments were made against a background that France is on the cusp of potentially legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia through a contentious legislative proposal.

The parliamentary vote on the matter was been deferred to September 26-28, coincidentally following the Pope's visit to the country.

While Francis did not discuss euthanasia directly with French President Emmanuel Macron during their recent meeting, he emphasised that he had made his stance "unambiguously clear" during Macron's visit to the Vatican last year.

Belgian model

Macron, who had pledged to reform end-of-life care as part of his election campaign, expressed his inclination towards the Belgian model of euthanasia in April 2022.

The Belgian model of 'integral' end-of-life care consists of universal access to palliative care and legally regulated euthanasia.

It was legalised in Belgium in 2002, and permits euthanasia for adults and minors in exceptional cases.

In the ensuing years, euthanasia choice in Belgium has become more liberal.

Earlier this year, a 56-year-old Belgian mother who murdered her five children was euthanised at her own request.

In 2020, the Vatican stripped 15 of the Belgian Brothers of Charity psychiatric institutions of their Catholic status because euthanasia was permitted on their premises.

Advances in pain manaagement

During the course of the plane interview, Pope Francis highlighted the advancements in medical science that allow for effective pain management, reiterating his belief that life is sacrosanct and should not be trifled with.

On May 13, during the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, he lamented the legalisation of euthanasia in Portugal, describing it as "a law that sanctions killing."

Pope Francis has consistently advocated for palliative care as a humane approach to treating those with severe illnesses, stating that while it is essential to accompany people towards the end of their lives, it is not ethical to hasten their death or assist in their suicide.

He has been equally forthright on the topic of abortion, likening it back in 2018 to contracting a "hitman" to dispose of an inconvenient individual.

Sources

• CNA

It is 16 years since Genevieve Lhermitte (pictured left and far right) killed her son and four daughters, aged three to 14 on 28 February 2007, while their father was away.

She then tried to commit suicide. After failing to do so, she called emergency services for help.

Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in 2008. In 2019 she was moved to a psychiatric hospital.

In Belgium the end of life law allows for people to choose to be euthanised.

They must be deemed to be suffering from "unbearable" and incurable psychological as well as physical suffering.

In addition, the person must be conscious of their decision and able to express their wish in a reasoned and consistent manner.

"It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected," her lawyer said.

Psychologist Emilie Maroit says the Belgian mother likely chose to die on 28 February in a "symbolic gesture in respect for her children".

"It may also have been for her to finish what she started, because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them," Maroit says.

The deaths of the five children and their mother's subsequent murder trial rocked Belgium.

During the trial, Lhermitte's lawyers argued she was mentally disturbed. She should not be sent to prison, they declared.

The jury found her guilty of premeditated murder however.

She was sentenced to life in jail.

In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to three million euros (£2,655,840) from a former psychiatrist. She claimed his "inaction" failed to prevent the murders.

Ten years later, she ended up abandoning the legal battle.

Last year, 2,966 people died via euthanasia in Belgium. Their number had increased by 10 percent in comparison with 2021.

Cancer remains the most common reason for people wishing to be euthanised.

However, officials say in nearly three out of four requests the patient presented "several types of suffering, both physical and psychological".

Since 2014, Belgium has allowed children to be helped to die as well as adults.

They must be terminally ill, in great pain and have parental consent.

Source

• BBC

Stockman is accused of not managing the Religious Congregation properly, of a lack of financial transparency and long-term vision.

While Stockman remains Superior General of the Brothers of Charity, an apostolic administrator has taken over his administrative, day-to-day role.

Stockman refused to comment on the move.

However, the move is welcomed by the Belgian branch of the Religious Congregation.

Its president, Raf De Rycke expressed relief at the announcement saying that he hoped Stockman's removal will restore the Vatican's confidence in the Congregation.

Stockman's successor as Superior General of the Brothers of Charity will be elected next year.

Stockman is well known for his opposition to Belgium's liberal laws that allow for patients who suffer unbearably psychologically to be euthanised.

The Brothers of Charity manage several schools and psychiatric hospitals in Belgium.

In May 2018, Stockman sued two of its Belgian members for misuse of one million euros over the Belgian province's decision to allow euthanasia at its psychiatric hospitals there.

Then later in November, the Brothers of Charity did not reappoint two pro-euthanasia board members who allowed a protocol that permitted hospitals owned by the religious congregation to perform euthanasia in limited circumstances.

In 2020, the Vatican stripped 15 of the Belgian Brothers of Charity's psychiatric institutions of their Catholic status because euthanasia was permitted on their premises.

Stockman, says the brothers had "no choice but to remain faithful" to their "charism of charity, which cannot be reconciled with the practice of euthanasia on psychiatric patients".

The Vatican decided to remove the Catholic status of these psychiatric institutions after the Brothers of Charity board decided to allow euthanasia for its patients, which is legal in Belgium.

"The loss of Catholic identity for our psychiatric centres in Belgium is a painful situation for the congregation (of brothers)," Stockman said. "With a heavy heart, the congregation has to let go of its psychiatric centres in Belgium."

Sources

• CathoBel
• De Standard
• CathNews
• CathNews
• CathNews

A poll of healthcare professionals in Flanders, Belgium found 93.6% of physicians surveyed "agree that in the event of a serious (non-lethal) neonatal condition, administering drugs with the explicit intention to end neonatal life is acceptable."

While the term ‘serious (non-lethal) neonatal condition' is not defined in the paper, similarly unrestrictive wording in the UK Abortion Act has in practice allowed for abortion right up to birth for babies prenatally diagnosed with a disability - including Down's syndrome, cleft lip and club foot.

Medical ‘ethicists' call for after-birth abortion

In 2012, two medical ‘ethicists' controversially claimed that doctors should be allowed to end the lives of the disabled, and even unwanted, newborn babies because they are not "actual persons".

In an article, published by the British Medical Journal, Francesca Minerva and Alberto Guibilini argue that parents should be given the choice to end the lives of their newborn babies shortly after they are born because they are "morally irrelevant" and have "no moral right to life."

In addition, the ‘ethicists' argued that infanticide - the purposeful causing of a baby's death - is no different to abortion since both a foetus and a newborn baby are only "potential persons".

They suggest infanticide, which they term as after-birth abortion, should even be permissible where a baby is perfectly healthy if the birth is unwanted, inconvenient or too expensive for the parents.

The authors state: "Both a foetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a person in the sense of subject of a moral right to life."

They add: "What we call after-birth abortion should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled".

The response to the article was widespread outrage and even death threats aimed at the articles two authors. However, what was widely condemned, at the time, now appears to have widespread support among healthcare professionals surveyed in Belgium. Continue reading

This year 305 adults will be baptized - 61 more than in 2019.

The number of adult baptisms in Belgium has been growing for several years.

There were 143 in 2010, 180 in 2015, 244 last year and over 300 this year.

Although the majority of Belgium's 11.5 million population are baptized Catholics, only seven percent go to Mass on Sundays.

The largest number of adult baptisms will take place this year in the Diocese of Tournai. This is a primarily French-speaking area in western Belgium.

The diocese will baptize 127 adults, compared to 93 in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.

According to CathoBel, which is the website of the Catholic Church in Belgium, those seeking baptism this year included a 42-year-old who arrived in Belgium from Thailand in 1996. He was baptized on Sunday this week - 23 August.

The Thai immigrant, his 18-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were all baptised together at Our Lady of the Snows Church in Borgerhout by a member of the catechumenate team of the Diocese of Antwerp.

The CathoBel website quoted the family as saying: "This Sunday will mark for our family the beginning of a new life that we have been waiting for so long. We long for our new birth so much."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Catholic Leader

One striking thing about modern Western societies is how quickly bioethical practices that would once have been shocking quickly become unremarkable.

It happened with abortion, it happened with embryo selection, and now it is happening with euthanasia.

Last week it emerged that during 2016 and 2017 three children in Belgium were given euthanasia, and the media reaction was one giant shrug.

As far as I am aware it has barely been reported outside Christian and pro-life circles.

Pro-lifers who warn against weakening the legal protection offered to all human life are often accused of believing in the supposed "slippery slope fallacy".

But the Belgian experience, over the 16 years since euthanasia was introduced, suggests that logical slippery slopes do exist.

Once you have conceded into law a particular ethical principle - say, "intentional killing is a legitimate treatment option for patients who request it, or whose best interests demand it" - it is very difficult to control the further application of that principle, because of the way the law works, with a high value attached to precedent and equal treatment.

By the internal logic of the pro-euthanasia position, any law or ruling permitting some form of euthanasia carries within it the seeds of its own extension.

If someone with a prognosis of six months is eligible, why not someone with a prognosis of nine months?

If someone who wants to die because of unbearable physical pain, why not someone with unbearable existential pain? And so on.

Euthanasing the mentally ill

The direction of travel in Belgium has been clear for a long time.

Euthanasia was introduced in 2002 under fairly liberal conditions - for example, the legislation permitted what Belgian law calls "emancipated minors" to have access to it.

The numbers taking advantage, steady for a long time at somewhat under 1,500 per year, have recently started to increase.

The law allowing children to be killed was introduced in 2013.

There are many red flags in the Belgian experience for those willing to see them.

The controversy over a request almost granted to the rapist and murderer Frank Van den Bleeken, who claimed he was "suffering unbearably", is one such (Van den Bleeken was at first given permission to seek euthanasia at the hands of doctors; the decision was later overturned).

A 2015 study looking at 100 patients who requested euthanasia found that 90 had at least one psychiatric disorder. Continue reading

• Image: The Conversation

After a meeting with delegates from a local gay working group last week, Cardinal Jozef De Kesel said he was concerned for their well-being and spoke of his respect for them.

He also spoke of gay couples' relationships, noting these are not the same as Christian marriage between a man and a woman.

At the same time, he acknowledged the personal encounter gay couples have.

De Kesel wants to respond to gay couples' requests when they are believers, involved in stable, lasting relationships and wish their relationships to benefit from the church's symbolic recognition.

However, this recognition won't be the same a religious marriage. Nor will it be an ecclesiastical blessing that too closely resembles the blessing of a marriage.

Nor would it involve an exchange of consent sealed by an exchange of rings.

Instead, if gay people want a Christian symbol of their proximity, a celebration of thanksgiving or prayer is more likely, De Kessel's spokesman Geert De Kerpel says.

"To the extent that the church has maintained a certain reserve on the issue, it is to preserve the great value of marriage and the family to the greatest extent possible."

Although Belgian media have suggested De Kesel is adopting a "revolutionary position," his stance reflects the Belgian Church has already taken on gay couples' relationships.

Source

• La Croix
• LifeSiteNews
• Image: LifeSiteNews

After appeals from the religious order, board members have been asked to explain their decision to Church authorities in Rome. Read more

The head of the order, Brother René Stockman, says the Brothers would remain faithful to the Church's teaching, despite serious civil pressure not to do so.

The Brothers' mission is to care for the poor, elderly, and those affected by psychiatric diseases. In Belgium, they sponsor 15 hospitals and care for about 5,000 patients.

Earlier this year the brothers' board of trustees decided to allow euthanasia in Belgian hospitals under certain circumstances. There are three Brothers on the board.

The board are complaining about the lack of dialogue and have stressed they will "continue with the request of establishing a dialogue," though they do not want to change their decision.

In the meantime, despite a clear ruling and messages from the Vatican that the practice of euthanasing patients must stop, the board has defied the directive.

Stockman says the Brothers might have to discontinue sponsoring hospitals if things do not change.

"The next step is a meeting with the authorities of the Vatican during the week of September 25. We will then make our decisions in accordance with the vision of the Vatican," Stockman says.

Source

• Crux
• Image: NZMSA

Van Rompuy, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2014 and is also the first President of the European Council, was responding to Pope Francis' order that the Brothers of Charity cease euthanising mentally ill patients by the end of August.

Van Rompuy sits on the board of trustees for the Brothers of Charity, which has 15 psychiatric care centers in Belgium.

The Belgian branch of the Brothers of Charity announced in May that doctors were free to offer and perform euthanasia on mentally ill patients that requested it because of "unbearable suffering" and no hope of treatment.

The definition of "unbearable suffering" is vague, and leaves the door open for euthanasia to be performed on people that have treatment options available.

Van Rompuy's tweet is a first public sign that the board, which is linked to the religious Brothers of Charity Congregation but separate from it, may not accept the Pope's instruction to cease offering euthanasia.

The Brothers of Charity board is mainly made up of laypeople.

Source

• The Daily Caller
• National Catholic Register
• Image: Politico Europe

They are responding to complaints that several Belgian Brothers of Charity-run psychiatric hospitals say euthanasia is allowed in its institutions.

The Brothers care for about 5,000 psychiatric patients in Belgium.

While acknowledging the pain a person suffering from a psychiatric illness can experience, it is "precisely in this situation that we must remain close to [the sufferer] and not abandon him," the bishops said.

Looking at the bigger picture, permitting euthanasia would be "attacking the very foundations of our civilization," they added.

They said throughout human history there's been a prohibition on euthanasia, which is why they are calling for "great restraint and continuing dialogue on these issues."

Brother René Stockman, the superior general of the Brothers of Charity has made a formal request to the reverse the decision and had contacted the Vatican about it.

He says the Vatican is investigating his complaint.

Source

• LifeSite
• CathNews USA
• Image: BioEdge

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, is personally carrying out the investigation.

The investigation follows an appeal to Rome for help from Brother Rene Stockman, the superior general of the Brothers of Charity order running the hospitals.

A change in policy from the hospitals' mostly lay-member governing Board now requires the Brothers to "take seriously unbearable and hopeless suffering and patients' request for euthanasia". Read more

But the religious brothers who operate the hospitals say the policy change is unacceptable and cannot be implemented.

The Brothers of Charity, who oppose euthanasia, are responsible for 15 psychiatric hospitals. Between them they care for 5,000 patients.

The hospitals' website says they now "take seriously unbearable and hopeless suffering and patients' request for euthanasia".

The chairman of the hospitals' board, Raf De Rycke, said allowing psychiatric patients to be euthanised isn't a radical change for the institutions.

In the past, patients have been transferred from the Brothers of Charity hospitals to non-Catholic ones. Now this won't be necessary.

"We are making both possible routes for our patients: both a pro-life perspective and euthanasia." he said.

But Brother René Stockman, the superior general of the Brothers of Charity, said the Brothers deplore this new vision.

He is calling on the Church to help him oppose the board's directive.

Stockman told the Brothers "we cannot accept this decision, because it is going totally against our charism of charity."

The decision can "not at all" be justified in a Christian framework and is "a real tragedy," he added.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has strong views about the board's directive.

"It's a way of abandoning our people to death," he said.

"Catholic institutions killing their patients" in Belgium sets a dangerous precedent.

"Euthanasia advocates will use this to exert pressure on Catholic institutions in other countries."

"It seems to me ..., given the libertine view of euthanasia at work in [Belgium], the Brothers ... need to reconsider this apostolate," said moral theologian Father Thomas Petri.

"It would be far worse to remain complicit and cooperate in the culture of death now let loose in their institutions than to withdraw, pray for conversion, and to be prepared to help the victims of the fallout."

Source

• National Catholic Register
• LifeSite
• Image: Health Aim

Age restrictions on euthanasia requests were removed in Belgium two years ago.

The head of the country' federal euthanasia commission Wim Distelmans said the teenager was "suffering unbearable physical pain".

"Fortunately there are very few children who are considered [for euthanasia] but that does not mean we should refuse them the right to a dignified death," he said. Read more

The classes will be replaced with a weekly hour of "citizenship classes".

Critics worry that the new classes will promote abortion and homosexuality, the Catholic News Agency reported.

There are also fears that the changes could end up pushing teachers with a religious education or background out of the schools.

The decision was announced by the Belgian government in a July 7 decree.

This was despite the fact that 97 per cent of students had said they wanted the religion classes to be maintained.

Last month, amid debate over the measure, the Belgian bishops' conference released a statement emphasising the importance of religious study in schools.

"Indeed, removing the Catholic religion classes would mean relegating religious belief to the private sphere, which, for a democratic state, would be an impoverishment," they said.

The Belgian state curriculum includes religion classes, with students having the choice of Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant or "a-confessional morality".

The classes normally consist of two weekly hours of teaching.

Last year, the government started a procedure to cut in half the weekly hours of religion in the curriculum.

The new citizenship classes - entitled "Education of philosophy and citizenship" (EPC) - will go into effect in October,2016, in primary schools and October, 2017, in secondary schools.

The government decision will apply only to the French-speaking schools in Belgium.

Each of the country's three main language communities - French, Flemish and German - has authority over their respective educational programmes.

One religion teacher, who requested anonymity, told CNA that "these citizenship classes are part of a real ideological indoctrination".

Segments of the Belgian press have also criticized the content of the new classes, labelling them cours de rien, or "classes of nothing".

The citizenship classes must be taught by "neutral" teachers.

These educators must not have any religious education in their background, including a degree from a Catholic university.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: PSCC Mobile Fellows

The St Augustine rest home in Diest was ordered to pay a total of €6,000.

This was after it stopped doctors from giving a lethal injection to Mariette Buntjens.

Days later, the 74-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to her private address to die "in peaceful surroundings", the Catholic Herald reported.

Her family later sued the nursing home for causing their mother "unnecessary mental and physical suffering".

A civil court in Louvain upheld the complaint and fined the home €3,000.

It also ordered compensation of €1,000 to each of Mrs Buntjens's three adult children.

During the hearing, the three judges decided unanimously that "the nursing home had no right to refuse euthanasia on the basis of conscientious objection".

The test case clarifies Belgian law to mean that only individual medical professionals - and not hospitals or care homes - have the right to refuse euthanasia requests.

The judgement could spell the closures of scores of Catholic-run nursing and care homes across Belgium.

This is because the Church has stated explicitly that it will not permit euthanasia "under any circumstance".

Euthanasia pioneer Dr Wim Distelmans, a man who has been dubbed Belgium's "Dr Death", welcomed the judgement.

He said: "This is an important case because the judge sees the nursing home as an extension of a private home."

Technically, euthanasia remains an offence in Belgium, with the law protecting doctors from prosecution only if they abide by carefully-set criteria.

It is limited to adults who are suffering unbearably and who are able to give their consent.

Two years ago the law was also extended to "emancipated children".

In spite of so-called safeguards, critics have argued that the law is interpreted so liberally that euthanasia is available on demand.

Last year, a paper published in the Journal of Medical Ethics reported that the majority of euthanasia cases in Belgium involve patients who are illegally "put to death" by doctors without ever giving their consent.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Image: CBS News

Pope Francis has named Archbishop Jozef de Kesel as the new Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.

Currently the Bishop of Bruges, Archbishop-elect De Kesel is seen as a moderate in comparison with his predecessor in Brussels, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard.

According to The Tablet, Bishop De Kesel, 68, has called for a relaxation of mandatory celibacy for priests and he has also said that women's ordination is "negotiable".

At a press conference announcing his appointment in Brussels on November 6, Bishop De Kesel is reported to have stressed his "respect" for gay people.

He added that respect for each person, regardless of their sexual orientation, "is a value that the Gospel shares with modern culture".

Traditionally the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels is made a cardinal, although this did not happen with Archbishop Leonard.

Bishop De Kesel previously served under a leading progressive, Cardinal Godfried Danneels.

The archbishop-elect was ordained for the Diocese of Ghent in 1972 and wrote a doctoral thesis at Rome's Gregorian University on the work of the liberal German Lutheran theologian and New Testament scholar, Rudolf Bultmann.

He has taught at a teacher training centre at the University of Leuven, the seminary in Ghent and was auxiliary Bishop of Mechen-Brussels from 2002-10.

He took over in Bruges from Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who admitted to sexually abusing two of his nephews.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Image: Deredactie

The film opens with shots of Eva, in sweat pants and a T-shirt, petting her affectionate Labrador as she greets the youthful Dr. Van Hoey at her home. "Let's get on with this," Eva says as she sits on her patio. "I am looking forward to the rest."

Eva gives a good-bye hug to her brother and sister-in-law, who do not want to be present for her death. She lies down on her living room couch and rolls up her sleeve to receive her injections.

Dr. Van Hoey's first injection puts Eva into a deep sleep. The second kills her.

"The bond between a patient and doctor gets so strong by the time euthanasia takes place that it is hard," Van Hoey said, "It is so personal and intimate and beautiful."

But Van Hoey also said that he has administered more than one hundred lethal doses over the past twelve years, and he can talk about them matter-of-factly, "I am quite used to [it]," he said, "It is part of my job."

In order to qualify for euthanasia in Belgium, a person must suffer from acute and "incurable" physical or mental pain. Polls in Belgium show broad support for euthanasia, and the number of cases has grown steadily every year since it was legalized in 2003.

In 2003, there were 235 cases of euthanasia. In 2013, there were 1,816. One out of every twenty deaths in Belgium is now deliberately caused. In 2014, Belgium became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia for children.

If you ask to be euthanized in Belgium today, chances are three in four that your request will be granted.

Most of Belgium's euthanized patients have terminal cancer, but people are also being euthanized for autism, anorexia, borderline personality disorders, chronic-fatigue syndrome, and depression. Continue reading

Sources

• Public Discourse, from an article by Robert Carle, a professor of theology at The King's College in Manhattan.
• Image: Independent

The figure was revealed by Wim Distelmans, chairman of the Federal Euthanasia Commission.

He said bipolar patients were the majority of 50-60 "psychiatric suicides" last year.

"Mostly they're not old, but they've suffered for a long time," he said

Last year, there were 1924 people who died by euthanasia in Belgium.

A Brussels newspaper has profiled a physically healthy 24-year-old woman who has been granted permission to die by euthanasia.

After she asked to die this way, three psychiatrists analysed her and concluded she should be allowed to die.

Euthanasia was legalised in Belgium in 2002 for terminally ill patients.

But restrictions have gradually been loosened.

Continue reading