Bishop Appointed for the Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda and Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Proposed Changes to Federal Legislation for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

Today, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed the Father Guy Boulanger Bishop of the Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda. At the time of his appointment, Bishop-elect Boulanger was serving as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke. Upon his episcopal ordination, he will assume the pastoral governance of the diocese which had been entrusted to the Most Reverend Gilles Lemay, Bishop of the Diocese of Amos, as Apostolic Administrator in June 2019, following the resignation of the former Bishop, the Most Reverend Dorylas Moreau, because of illness. Bishop Moreau died 22 October 2019.

The Most Reverend Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), wrote to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, regarding the proposed changes to legislation on the expansion of eligibility criteria for euthanasia/assisted suicide (which the government refers to as “Medical Assistance in Dying/MAiD”). In his letter, after noting that euthanasia/assisted suicide is “the direct taking of human life or the participation in his/her suicide, which can never be justified,” the CCCB President states: “We strongly urge the Government of Canada, before proceeding further, to undertake a more extensive, thorough, impartial, and prolonged consultation on the question, in order to ensure all pertinent factors – social, medical, and moral – are carefully and thoroughly considered,” and adds “Palliative care, which has yet to become fully realized and accessible in our own country, offers a compelling answer – the only respectful, comprehensive and ethical alternative to the problem the government is trying to address.”

Link to the letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Source: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops CCCA.ca