Bishops approve statement on assisted suicide, charter revisions

Submitted on June 22, 2011

Catholic News Service

Patricia and John Peyton surfed the Internet at their home in Seattle in 2008. John, then 64, became paralyzed by an unusually aggressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He spent time in his final months lobbying against Washington state’s assisted suicide initiative. Peyton said society needs to extend true compassion to the dying. The U.S. bishops addressed the issue at their recent meeting.

CNS photo/Mike Penney

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The U.S. bishops June 16 approved a policy statement on physician-assisted suicide, the first on the issue by the bishops as a body, and they also approved revisions to their 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." The votes came on the second day of the bishops' annual spring general assembly held near Seattle in Bellevue June 15-17.