It’s bad enough that secular authorities attack the Church and attempt to press her into complying with ungodly policies. What is still worse is when Catholic institutions submit to such pressure and adopt ungodly practices.

After being fined for refusing to euthanize a 74 year-old woman suffering from lung cancer, the Brother of Charity in Belgium, a religious order that serves the elderly and mentally ill, adopted a policy of allowing patients to be euthanized by doctors on their properties, a policy in accordance with Belgium law. The policy was adopted in June and, apparently, two patients have been euthanized under the new policy.

The Brothers of Charity refused to heed the demands of the Belgium bishops to not adopt the new policy, as well as ignoring a letter from Gerhard Cardinal Muller, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Brother Rene Stockman, superior general of the order who opposes the new euthanasia policy, appealed to the Vatican after his confreres in Belgium refused his demands to reverse the new policy . It has now been learned that the Vatican has issued an ultimatum to the Brothers of Charity, approved by Pope Francis, demanding that they abandon the practice of euthanasia or face serious consequences, including being dismissed from the Brothers of Charity order and losing their Catholic identity.

While it’s encouraging to see the Vatican taking serious steps to bring the Brothers of Charity in Belgium back into line with the Church’s moral doctrine, it’s disheartening that such action is required in the first place. There are consistent efforts in the United States to pressure Catholic hospitals to perform abortions, sterilizations and euthanasia. Let’s hope the Catholic hospitals here have firmer backbones to resist the tide of ungodly secular demands.

http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/08/09/pope-orders-belgian-brothers-of-charity-to-stop-euthanasia/

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.