OTTAWA – Palliative care is about living and celebrating life and should begin much earlier than a during a patient’s last days and weeks of life, palliative care physician Dr. Jose Pereira said Feb. 18.

Euthanasia is here to stay, so Catholic health care workers must rely on their Christian perspectives to guide them through the tensions caused by medical aid in dying.

Following the shooting deaths of six men inside a Quebec City mosque, politicians quite rightly condemned the slaughter and affirmed Canada’s commitment to diversity, inclusiveness and tolerance.

VALLEYFIELD, Quebec – Even though medical assistance in dying has been legal in Quebec for almost a year and in Canada for a few months, Bishop Noel Simard of Valleyfield has not yet come to terms with this new reality. To him, medically assisted death is just plain euthanasia.

Are there circumstances where assisted suicide should be among the range of options available to someone dealing with serious mental health issues? Should we routinely euthanize people with diseases like Alzheimer’s based upon their advance wishes? Are there times when mature kids and teenagers should be able to get a doctor’s help to die?

OTTAWA – A study that claims euthanasia and assisted suicide could save the health-care system more than $100 million annually is ringing alarm bells among assisted-killing opponents.

OTTAWA – Helping someone contemplating death through euthanasia can be a simple as saying "hello."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Congress took its first step toward blocking Washington D.C.’s doctor-prescribed suicide law on Thursday, but the action will need the support of both houses of Congress and the President.

WASHINGTON – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser Dec. 20 signed into law a bill allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives.

We all look for signs of hope. Many Catholics cling to anything that points away from secular smugness to a world in which the name “Christ” is not used as an expletive.

Earlier this fall, the bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories released guidelines to help priests offer pastoral care to individuals and families contemplating voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. The guidelines were fully Catholic, comprehensive, compassionate and courageous, as detailed then by Peter Stockland in these pages.

PRETORIA, South Africa – While countries around the world such as Canada, Germany and Japan have passed legislation to legalize physician assisted suicide, one has ruled to reject it: South Africa.

MELBOURNE, Australia – The government of the Australian state of Victoria is looking to legalize euthanasia in 2017, but physicians have warned of the risk of diminishing palliative care, already under-utilized and underfunded.

CHUR, Switzerland – A Swiss bishop has instructed Catholic priests not to give last rites to people suspected of seeking assisted suicide, following a sharp rise in the practice in his country.

OTTAWA – New guidelines issued by the bishops of Atlantic Canada emphasize pastoral accompaniment for those who chose assisted suicide or euthanasia and seem to leave open the possibility of receiving the Sacraments and a Catholic funeral.