BELGIUM
Crux
The Brothers of Charity, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients across Belgium, formally implemented its euthanasia policy in June, just weeks after the bishops declared they would not accept euthanasia in Catholic institutions. About 12 psychiatric patients in their care are believed to have asked for euthanasia over the past year, with two transferred elsewhere to receive the injections to end their lives.
Pope Francis has given a Belgian religious order until the end of August to stop offering euthanasia to psychiatric patients.
Brother Rene Stockman, superior general of the order, told Catholic News Service the pope gave his personal approval to a Vatican demand that the Brothers of Charity, which runs 15 centers for psychiatric patients across Belgium, must reverse its policy by the end of August.
Brothers who serve on the board of the Brothers of Charity Group, the organization that runs the centers, also must each sign a joint letter to their superior general declaring that they “fully support the vision of the magisterium of the Catholic Church, which has always confirmed that human life must be respected and protected in absolute terms, from the moment of conception till its natural end.”
Brothers who refuse to sign will face sanctions under canon law, while the group can expect to face legal action and even expulsion from the church if it fails to change its policy.
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