DISCUSSIONS on assisted suicide are “a step too far” in caring for the sick, Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has said.
And he warned that crises in the system should not “drown out” the enormous and selfless work done by those working in the healthcare system.
Bishop Leahy made the comments while marking the Jubilee Year ‘Day of the Sick’. In his homily at mass from University Hospital Limerick, Bishop Leahy said that we must remember the sick and those who suffer in silence, the lonely, the anxious, and those battling depression or mental illness.
But, he said, we must equally remember those who dedicate their lives to caring for the sick, especially doctors, nurses, paramedics, chaplains, carers, and all working in hospitals, hospices, and homes.
Bishop Leahy also made a particular reference to caring for people for whom the prognosis is not positive and that discussions on assisted suicide are a step too far.
“Expanding pastoral care services in healthcare facilities across this island and ensuring palliative care for those at the end of life are essential steps in upholding and defending human dignity,” he said.
“The talk of assisted suicide is frightening. It aims at people precisely when they are most vulnerable in their decision-making powers.
“If we think back to Covid, the courage and bravery of health staff, particularly in the early days when the world was terrified as the death toll soared, they went to work each and every day not knowing what the impact on their lives would be.”
Bishop Leahy said that “what healthcare workers did during Covid should have been the watershed for everyone to never forget just how they truly are frontline heroes caring for the sick. Yet they continue to grapple with inadequate resources but do so unrelenting in their vocation to help others.”
Bishop Leahy said that healthcare workers “always keep the light on”, no matter what the challenge, even when they are themselves exhausted.
“So much credit is due to those involved in healthcare. Perhaps we don’t always recognise their great work. Stories about this or that shortage makes big news. We know the phenomenon that one tree falling makes more noise than a whole forest growing.”
