Conference: Accompanying people on life’s final journey
Summary of end of life conference
On Saturday 15th June, several members of St Alban’s Parish joined with a large group of other Catholics at Thornycroft Hall for a Conference about ‘Accompanying People on Life’s Final Journey.
Euthanasia or “Assisted Dying” is now legal in eleven U.S states. There is a high profile campaign for the UK to follow suit with legislation in the next Parliament very likely.
The Conference’s aim was to show how the Church safeguards genuine dignity in dying and that a holistic approach to physical and mental suffering can make dying a peaceful process for the person and their family.
We had talks from two eminent speakers; Deacon David Harrison, Catholic Chaplain from Leighton Hospital and Dr Teresa Merino, Consultant in Palliative Care.
He cited cases where terminally ill Catholics he visited in hospital who had been away from their faith for a number of years, were able to re-connect with their faith simply through him spending time with them and encouraging them and offering friendship. This led to them opening themselves up to the Sacraments – Eucharist, Confession and Sacrament of the Sick. The patients were able to face death with peace and hope impacting not only the patient but their family as well.
Rev. Harrison directed us to a letter written by Bishop Philip Egan to the Islanders of Guernsey where legislation of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia have become key issues. Bishop Egan outlined four reasons why Catholics should oppose legislation:
First, he said that it places an ‘intolerable and immoral demand’ on medical staff, doctors and nurses. Second, to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide ‘would undermine palliative care and the work of care-homes’. Third, assisted suicide ‘puts intolerable pressure on the sick and the elderly’. Fourth, the bishop said that the legislation would ‘gradually keep creeping forward, expanding to cover more and more categories’, citing examples of Belgium and Canada, where almost 5% of deaths are now by lethal injection.
Lunch was a lively affair with lots to discuss.
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The second speaker, Dr Teresa Merino, who is a highly-regarded consultant in Palliative Care, challenged us to think about philosophical aspects of life: what is life? What is living? What is being alive? What is dying? What is it like to be dead?
She went on to speak to us about the founder of the Hospice Movement, Cicely Saunders, who founded St Christopher’s Hospice in 1967 introducing expert pain and symptom control with compassionate care. She quoted Cicely Saunders as saying, “You matter because you are, and you matter to the last moment of your Life.”
Dr Merino spoke of the dignity and integrity of the individual. Dignity, to quote St John Paul II is “the footprint of God in the soul.” It is given to us by God and we hope others recognise it in us. Dr Merino said, she said she cannot help someone else die, because by doing so she would lose her dignity by committing a mortal sin.
Dr Merino spoke of her work where there had been a focus on improving the end of life and giving the “softest landing possible” so that patients had the opportunity to reconcile with family members and receive the Sacraments. Palliative Care is about the family as a whole. She spoke of one patient who had been in the hospital for many weeks at the end of his life. He rarely had visitors. Over a period of time they got to know him and they found out that he had 5 daughters who were estranged from him. Through the prayers of the Catholic nurses and doctors who cared for him, one by one the daughters returned and were reconciled with their father before his death. She said that had Assisted Dying been available to him he would most likely have chosen that option.
I came away from the Conference with a strong conviction that as Catholics we have a moral duty to reject Euthanasia as a crime against Human life and that we must speak out against any potential legislation that is proposed. To quote Bishop Egan again, ‘For we believe in assisted living, not assisted dying. Death is not pain relief; it is the transition to a glorious new life in heaven with God our Father and Creator.’
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There is a special case of human dignity violation that is…swiftly gaining ground. It is unique in how it utilizes a mistaken understanding of human dignity to turn the concept of dignity against itself…For example, laws permitting euthanasia or assisted suicide are sometimes called “death with dignity acts”…However, in response to this, it must be strongly reiterated that suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own. Instead, suffering can become an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of mutual belonging and gain greater awareness of the precious value of each person to the whole human family.
Dignitas Infinita, 51
About the conference
Euthanasia or “assisted dying” is now legal in 9 countries and 11 US states. There is a high profile campaign for the UK to follow suit with legislation in the next Parliament very likely. This conference aims to show how the Church safeguards genuine dignity in dying, and that a holistic approach to physical and mental suffering can make dying a peaceful process for the person and their family.
Date: Saturday 15th June 2024
Time: 10am to 4pm
About the Speakers
Dr Teresa Merino
Teresa Merino qualified as a doctor in 1989, and went on to study in England, Wales and Spain, gaining postgraduate qualifications in Palliative Medicine, Health Management, Bioethics and Law, and Epidemiology and Public Health. She has worked in hospices and hospitals, and in the community, caring for people with a wide range of conditions. She is highly skilled in pain management techniques, and has also used acupuncture to treat pain. She is a member of The Pontifical Academy for Life.
Deacon David Harrison
Ordained Permanent Deacon 18 years ago, David was raised as a Roman Catholic and settled in the parish of St. John Vianney, Northwich with his family in 1991. His wife, Anne, worked as a staff nurse at St Luke’s hospice for 24 years, whilst David travelled the globe in the technology sector. David’s life was transformed at the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in 1998 and was later accepted to train as a secondary school teacher, and in parallel to study for the Diaconate. In 2018 he retired as RE teacher and school chaplain at All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield. David was accepted as a volunteer RC chaplain at the Mid-Cheshire Hospital Trust in 2019, later being appointed as the Diocesan RC Chaplain by Bishop Mark Davies in 2022. As Hospital chaplain he is passionate about the role of chaplaincy as a key part of holistic care, and he strives to ensure that the wishes of Catholic patients on end-of-life care are understood and respected by all, particularly by non-practising family members.