LEICESTER, United Kingdom – As the “assisted dying” bill in Great Britain gets closer to being passed by the UK Parliament, Catholic leaders are urging voters to make their voices heard in opposition of the bill.

“All is not lost, and we must continue to fight this Bill, especially for the Third Reading,” said Bishop John Sherrington, the Lead Bishop for Life Issues.

“It’s really important that people write to their MPs. You can either write a letter, use the cards that come from Right to Life, or use the e-campaign link. But we need to tell MPs of our concerns and why we’re opposed to this Bill,” he said in a video interview.

As the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill makes its way through the Committee Stage in parliament, the sponsor Member of Parliament (MP), Kim Leadbeater, has asked for a series of amendments concerning the role of doctors and the reporting of assisted suicides. Additionally, the necessary approval of a judge is also being proposed to be required.

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Speaking to the bishops’ Catholic News podcast, Sherrington spoke about his youth helped shape his pro-life convictions.

“I remember when I was about seven, my grandmother had a massive stroke and then lived with us. In those days, the treatment for strokes was not as good as it is now. She had mobility, but she’d lost a lot of her speech, though her mind was very sharp,” the bishop said.

“Of course, she’d become very frustrated in trying to express herself. As a child, I spent a lot of time with her, trying to help her to do that. Those family relationships for all of us are so important. They shape who we become. Having grandparents who were sick and loving them made me want their lives to continue, made me want to be with them and accompany them,” he continued.

“The idea of ending a life because of suffering is just incomprehensible when I think of them. One grandmother was on her own, my other grandparents were together, but the way they managed each other’s old age was lovely to see and the love between them. So that must have begun a process in me of getting more concerned about the sacredness of life and the gift of life,” Sherrington said.

He also noted that a visit to the Catholic Marian Shrine at Lourdes in France also had a profound impact on him.

“Having been to Lourdes a number of times with pilgrimage groups, the Across Trust, and then the diocese, working with people who were terminally ill or perhaps living with disability, again made me value their lives as well as the gifts that I have. So all that shapes how we see life,” the bishop said.

“That’s deepened in the light of the Gospel and the gift of life that God gives us and understanding the sacredness of life in the knowledge that Jesus shared in our human life fully,” he said.

The English bishop also said Pope Francis is offering an example of how to deal with serious illness. The pontiff left a five-week visit to the hospital on Sunday, although the interview with Sherrington took place before his departure.

“At the moment, I think Pope Francis wants to be a witness to suffering and living with his medical conditions. But we see him making the most of each day – phoning the parish community in Gaza, for example. He’s loving and concerned for them,” Sherrington said.

“He’s still sending us messages of encouragement and the importance of loving and living with suffering. So the Pope gives great encouragement to those who are sick or dying at this time,” he added.

Using this example, the bishop urged Catholics to continue opposing the proposed law, and said to use their own examples when making their views known.

“We’ve got all our reasons, we’ve got our arguments, but the use of the stories, the use of the experiences – especially from people who have nursed a sick member of the family, and those who have been present at that sacred moment – that needs to be shared because it’s significant and it’s holy, and it’s important for us to recognise that,” Sherrington said.

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