Lenten Campaign 2025
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Despite the United Kingdom parliament’s plan to continue the drive to legalize euthanasia in the country, Catholics and those opposed to the bill should continue speaking out, a bishop said recently on a podcast.
“All is not lost, and we must continue to fight this Bill, especially for the Third Reading,” said Bishop John Sherrington, an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Westminster, said in a video interview with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ podcast, “Catholic News.”
Sherrington is the lead bishop for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ pro-life efforts.
“It’s really important that people write to their MPs. You can either write a letter, use the cards that come from Right to Life, or use the e-campaign link,” he said.
Bishop Sherrington continued, “But we need to tell MPs of our concerns and why we’re opposed to this Bill.”
Personal experiences shaped his views
For Bishop Sherrington, opposition to euthanasia or “assisted dying” is personal. When he was a child, his grandmother moved in with his family after suffering a stroke.
“In those days, the treatment for strokes was not as good as it is now. She had mobility, but she'd lost a lot of her speech, though her mind was very sharp. Of course, she'd become very frustrated in trying to express herself,” recounted Bishop Sherrington.
Bishop Sherrington looked back on this experience as one that was “so important” and helped shape who he would become as an adult.
“Having grandparents who were sick and loving them made me want their lives to continue, made me want to be with them and accompany them,” he said.
Where the bill stands
The U.K. Parliament voted on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill last November, and the bill is now in a committee ahead of the “report” stage of legislation.
The bill would “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes,” says the website for the U.K. Parliament.
"The idea of ending a life because of suffering is just incomprehensible,” said Bishop Sherrington.
But before the bill becomes law, Bishop Sherrington says Catholics need to share their stories about why they are opposed to assisted suicide.
"We've got all our reasons, we've got our arguments, but the use of the stories, the use of the experiences – especially from people who have nursed a sick member of the family, and those who have been present at that sacred moment – that needs to be shared because it's significant and it's holy, and it's important for us to recognize that,” he said.
