Politics
Monday February 12, 2007
Euthanasia Activists Attack the Catholic Church in German Newspaper Ad
"Greatest Unifying Factor of Right to Die Movement is Disdain for Catholic Church"
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By John-Henry Westen
MUNICH, February 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Swiss Euthanasia group which runs a centre in Zurich which boasts of having killed - or as they put it, facilitated "assisted suicides" - of 700 people since 1998, has taken out a full-page ad in a German newspaper slamming Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II. The attack comes as no surprise to opponents of euthanasia who suggest that anti-Catholicism is rife within the ranks of euthanasia advocates.
The ad by Dignitas appeared in the weekend edition of Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, accusing the Popes of responsibility for the deaths of millions of AIDS victims in Africa and Asia due to the Church's "anti-condom policy".
The group expresses outrage that the Catholic Church in Italy denied a Catholic funeral to outspoken euthanasia activist Piergiorgio Welby who died last December. Welby died after he requested that his breathing machine be turned off, an act which is not considered euthanasia. Church authorities denied him a Catholic funeral since he was, until his death an unrepentant and very public advocate for euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com that he was not surprised at all by the anti-Catholic ad. "In September I attended the World Federation of Right to Die Societies conference in Toronto," said Schadenberg. "One of the prevailing themes of the many speakers and world leaders at the Right to Die conference was their disdain for the Catholic Church and for people of faith."
Schadenberg said that at the conference he expected to meet people who were well-intentioned ideologues who shared a different world view. "Many of the speakers and leaders fit that description," said Schadenberg, "but many more shared a disdain for the Catholic Church and for people of faith."
He concluded, "My assessment is that the greatest unifying factor of the Right to Die movement is not their hope for death on demand, but rather their disdain for religion and the Catholic Church."
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- BREAKING: US Congress Passes Health Care Reform Bill 220 to 215
- Stupak Amendment to Health Care Bill Passes 240 - 194 Saturday Evening
- Major Health Care Development - Pro-Life Stupak Amendment Vote OK'd for Today
- NY Times: Dems Banking on Later Squeezing Pro-Life Language Out of Bill in Committee
- USCCB Spokesman: "Definitely Not True" that Bishops Support Bill As it Stands
- TIME Got it Wrong - Prof. George Opposed Grandiose Kennedy Funeral
- USCCB Condemnation Tears Facade off "Phony" Abortion Compromise for Health Bill
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholic Left
- Dirty Fighting on Abortion Funding: Word-Games and Health-Care Theatrics Boggle the Mind
- Commentary on November 6 News
- Note to LifeSiteNews Subscribers with Rogers email addresses
- New York Gov. Declares Nov. 10 Extraordinary Legislative Session for Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Washington's Pro-Family Amendment Effort Defeated - R-71 Almost Certain to Pass
- Vote Pushed Back on Canadian Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Bill to Dec. 2
- Elderly U.K. Couple in Good Health Commit Suicide, Complain of Assisted Suicide Law
- Texas Late-Term Abortionist and Baptist Minister Admits: "Am I killing? Yes, I am"
- New Evidence Contradicts CCHD's Findings on Accused Pro-Abortion Partner
- Quebec Priest Denies Possibility of Sexual Reorientation Therapy on TV
- New Hampshire Same-Sex "Marriage" Law in Crosshairs after Maine's Law Crumbles
- Brooklyn Bishop Criticized for Recorded Message Praising Pro-Abortion Politician
- First Group of "Traditionalist" Anglicans in Britain Votes to Enter Catholic Church
Most Read this Week
- Planned Parenthood Director Resigns after Watching Ultrasound of Abortion Procedure
- Nun Defiant Following Rebuke, but Stops Abortion Escorting
- Breaking: Dominican Community Apologizes for Nun Caught Acting as Abortion Escort
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholics Left
- Over 200 Christendom College Students Protest Abortion at Planned Parenthood Clinic
- Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
- Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood Named
- US Congress Passes Health Care Reform Bill 218 to 215
- Major Health Care Bill Development - Stupak Hyde Amendment Vote OK'd
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.