Leaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) emphasised that they would champion vulnerable communities and work towards immigration reform.

"As the successors of the Apostles and vicars of Christ in our dioceses, we never backpedal or renounce the clear teaching of the Gospel" said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the conference. "We proclaim it in and out of season."

Commitment to human dignity

Broglio, who also leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, said that Catholic teachings on human dignity encompass all stages of life. "Human dignity should be protected from womb to tomb" he stated.

He stressed that the bishops would work to "defend and lift up the poor" and to "encourage immigration reform, while we continue to care for those in need who cross our borders".

The archbishop clarified that the conference "certainly does not encourage illegal immigration" and reminded attendees of their responsibility to see Christ in "the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, stranger or the sick".

Concerns on mass deportations

El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, chair of the USCCB's migration committee, spoke on the potential for mass deportations under Trump's administration. Seitz said the conference would "raise our voice loudly" if fundamental protections for migrants were threatened, calling it a "test for our nation" regarding its commitment to human rights.

"We will raise our voice loudly if those basic protections for people that have been a part of our country from its very beginning are not being respected" Seitz said. He emphasised that the church's role includes advocating for both legal and human rights.

Conscience and the Military

Broglio also addressed concerns about potential military involvement in deportation efforts. While military personnel typically cannot object to individual policies or actions, Broglio noted that "no one can be obliged to go against his or her conscience".

He added that military chaplains would support personnel in navigating ethical conflicts within the constraints of military service.

Looking forward, Broglio noted economic considerations around potential mass deportations, suggesting that filling open jobs could be a more pragmatic approach.

Source

• RNS

Following legal advice, Hospice NZ took an unprecedented action to seek clarity from the High Court on how the act could work, should it pass into law. Read more

Hospice New Zealand, an umbrella organisation for all hospice services, wanted answers about how conscientious objection would operate if the End of Life Choice Act was accepted in the referendum in September. Continue reading

The application - lodged by Hospice on April 9 - asks the High Court to provide rulings on the legal meaning of certain aspects of the End of Life Choice Act 2019, including:

• Whether an organisation such as a hospice can conscientiously object to Assisted Dying and operate a euthanasia-free service.
• Whether a district health board or other funding agency can decline to fund or contract with an organisation if it does not agree to provide assisted dying services.
• Whether the Act's mandatory obligations on a health practitioner override the ethical, clinical or professional judgments of that practitioner and their obligations under the Code of Health and Disability Consumers' Rights.
• Whether a health practitioner may exercise a right of conscientious objection on the basis that they hold as a core value that they must not act in a way that is contrary to their ethical, clinical or professional judgment and obligations.

A Hospice NZ spokeswoman said the application was necessary in order for the charitable organisation to be able to provide accurate advice to its members in advance of the referendum.

A 2017 statement on the Hospice New Zealand website acknowledges that euthanasia is a "challenging and emotive topic."

"We respect that everyone has the right to their opinion."

However, they note that legalising euthanasia and/or assisted suicide will place pressure on vulnerable people - those living with disabilities, mental health issues, terminal illness - for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden.

According to the Euthanasia Prevent Coalition Hospice New Zealand has probably launched the court case based on concerns with developments in Canada.

In February 2020, the Delta Hospice Society was informed that they will lose their funding because they refuse to do euthanasia.

Source

• alexschadenberg.blogspot.com
• nzherald.co.nz
• hospice.org.nz
• Image: wp19.genethique.org

The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Act 2017 would defend healthcare workers in England and Wales from partaking in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, IVF or similar fertility treatments, or abortion if they have a conscientious objection to doing so. Read more

"In Europe, we have identified 14 laws that are likely to negatively affect the religious liberty of Christians in 15 countries," said Massimo Introvigne, of the Italian foreign affairs ministry.

"In 2012, we also reported 169 rulings made in European courts that we judged to be dangerous to the freedom of Christians," he told the conference in Tirana, Albania.

"The most dangerous areas are those which limit the conscientious objection of Christians who do not want to co-operate in abortion, the sale of abortifacient pills, or the celebration of same-sex marriage; those which limit the freedom to preach through the misuse of laws against so-called ‘hate speech'; those which restrict the freedom of religious education and parents' rights to educate their children, and those which place restrictions on the use of religious symbols," he continued.

The Italian sociologist added that 74 per cent of European Christians think they suffer greater discrimination than persons of other faiths or atheists; 71 per cent think the media generally does not respect Christians; and 61 per cent believe that Christians are discriminated against at their workplace.

The Holy See's representative at the conference, Bishop Mario Toso, SDB, denounced attempts to divide religious belief from religious practice in Europe.

"Christians are frequently reminded in public discourse (and increasingly even in the courts) that they can believe whatever they like in their own homes or heads, and largely worship as they wish in their own private churches, but they simply cannot act on those beliefs in public," he said.

"This is a deliberate twisting and limiting of what religious freedom actually means, and it is not the freedom that was enshrined in international documents."

Bishop Toso declared: "Intolerance in the name of ‘tolerance' must be named for what it is and publicly condemned."

Sources:

Vatican Radio

Aleteia

Image: National Secular Society

In a new report, ostensibly on medical care for maternal health, Amnesty International calls on governments to repeal abortion laws and the protection of conscientious objection for medical workers, according to the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute.

It also calls for public health systems to train and equip health care providers to perform abortions.

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