Sorrow, outrage

After the Portuguese parliament legalised euthanasia the country’s bishops expressed sorrow and outrage: “To legalise death in this context [of the pandemic], rejecting lessons this pandemic has given to us on the precious value of human life, which the community in general and health professionals in particular are trying to save with extraordinary efforts, is a contradiction.”

The bishops stressed that the legalisation of euthanasia means “giving up on alleviating suffering and giving the wrong idea that a life marred by pain, and suffering does not deserve more protection and becomes a burden on oneself, on other people, on health services and on society as a whole”.

“Now more than ever, we are determined to accompany the sick with care and love in all the phases of their earthly life and especially in the final one”.

Carry a Bible

In his Angelus last Sunday, the pope said: “Carry a copy of the Bible in your pocket or in your bag, in order to read it during the day, to listen to that authoritative word of Jesus. And then – we all have our problems, we all have our sins, we all have spiritual malaises – ask Jesus: “Jesus, you are the prophet, the Son of God, he who was promised to us to heal us. Heal me!” Ask Jesus for healing, from our sins, from our ills.”

Community life

Speaking to Italian catechists, Pope Francis said: “In this year marked by the isolation and sense of loneliness caused by the pandemic, we have often reflected on the sense of belonging that underlies a community. …It has undermined established practices and habits and thus provokes us to rethink our community. We have realised, in fact, that we cannot get by alone, and that the only way to come out of crises better is to come out of them together – no one is saved alone, we come out of it together – re-embracing with more conviction the community in which we live.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)