Australian bishops release companion guide to address assisted suicide

St. Mary’s Catherdral, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. / Credit: Joern/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 31, 2024 / 14:02 pm (CNA).

Australia’s bishops have published a guide for pastors and other faith ministers to help them provide “spiritual support” to those who may be considering assisted suicide. 

In Australia, all six of the country’s states currently allow assisted suicide, or “voluntary assisted dying.”

A document released last year by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC), “To Witness and to Accompany with Christian Hope,” was meant as “a service to those who are called to attend to the spiritual and pastoral needs of patients who access or seek to access services that are designed to terminate a person’s life,” the manual says.

The ACBC on Wednesday, meanwhile, announced the release of a “companion guide” to that document, one that was written “​​as a tool to help Catholics reflect and learn” on last year’s pastoral guidance. 

Townsville Bishop Tim Harris said the document “offers guidance for carers, chaplains, family, and friends of the sick and the dying.”

The Australian prelates have spoken out strongly against the country’s assisted suicide laws, arguing that suicide is “always a tragedy” and urging the country’s governments to not legalize the deadly practice.

Hundreds of Australians have taken their lives by assisted suicide in recent years, according to reports from regional governments. Harris said this week that the bishops’ companion guide provides “compassionate and relevant pastoral advice and spiritual support” for those ministering to people considering suicide. 

In addition to a summary of the bishops’ earlier guidance, the companion document offers “tools for continued reflection and ongoing learning and formation for relatives, friends, pastoral carers, health care workers, and ordained ministers.”

Among the reflective prompts in the document include questions such as “Do I have any questions that I need to ask of the medical team, palliative care team, or doctors in order to understand the medical care that will assist my friend or relative at this time?” 

“Am I receiving regular supervision or professional pastoral accompaniment relevant to the demands of my ministry?” the document further prompts. 

“The Church continues to respect the dignity of the person, especially when they are at their most vulnerable,” Harris said this week. “This guide supports and assists those facing difficult and challenging circumstances at the end of life.”

Assisted suicide advocates in Australia have recently been pushing to legalize “telehealth” consultations for assisted suicide. The Federal Court of Australia last year ruled that the practice is illegal, though activists have continued advocating for it. 

ACBC spokesman Paul Osborne told CNA earlier this year that the effort is “one of the most pressing issues at the moment in Australia.”

“The Church says this is abhorrent,” Osborne said, “and the Australian government at this stage agrees that it is a bridge too far.”