Friday July 17, 2009
Representatives of European Catholic Bishops' Conferences Denounce Homosexual Adoption and Euthanasia
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
LVIV, UKRAINE, July 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The General Secretaries of the Catholic Episcopal Conferences from western and eastern Europe are denouncing attempts to pressure Catholic adoption agencies to give children to homosexuals in adoption, and also the spreading acceptance of euthanasia on the continent.
The statements were made during the recent meeting of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE), which gathered in Lviv, Ukraine, from July 9 to 13.
The assembled representatives denounced "a range of events wounding the dignity of the human person" which they said, "are taking place across Europe," according to a press release issued by the CCEE.
Among the items of concern were the case of "English Catholic Agencies who are compelled to proceed in adoption applications also for same-sex couples," resulting in the closure of the agencies.
In addition, the Council expressed concern about the starvation of Eluana Englaro, who was killed in Italy by doctors after a court ordered that her feeding tube could be removed at her father's request.
These cases "are of concern to the Church due to the anthropological model they promote, as this is distant from the culture of life and from the natural model of the family" the CCEE stated in its press release.
This year's CCEE meeting brought together representatives from the episcopal conferences of 27 countries, including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Croatia, France, Germany, England and Wales, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Saints Cyril and Methodius (International Bishops' Conference), Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Hungary, and Ukraine's Byzantine and Latin rites.
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