Assisted Dying

assisted suicide george carey rowan williams justin welby

Former archbishops split on assisted suicide, and there’s no Anglican via media

September 13, 2021
Archbishop Cranmer
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In the red corner is George, Lord Carey of Clifton, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991-2002. He favours the legalisation of assisted suicide (or assisted dying, if you prefer) because "there is nothing holy about agony". In the blue corner is Rowan,…

Fr David Palmer Catholic chaplain Nottingham University

What if Nottingham University were right to ‘cancel’ its Catholic chaplain?

September 8, 2021
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TRIGGER WARNING: The following blog post includes a discussion of the harsh treatment experienced by a Roman Catholic chaplain, and issues of religious liberty, common sense and Christian compassion. Its…

Does ‘Dignity in Dying’ really give people a dignified death?

February 21, 2018
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Theos have produced a new report: Dignity at the End of Life: What’s Beneath the Assisted Dying debate? This is a guest post by its author, Andrew Grey. _______ Assisted…

Archbishop’s political adviser role advertised exclusively in Guardian and Economist

July 28, 2017
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In the continuous stream of church life, things occasionally niggle. Some are easily shaken off with the passing of time, but others recur like an irritating charismatic leitmotif, keeping alive…

Right to Life: where do the Party Leaders currently stand?

April 23, 2017
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Lord Alton has done a useful (and very interesting) bit of digging on how the current party leaders have voted over recent years on a series of Right to Life…

How to Die: BBC "sensitively" screens assisted suicide, so why not broadcast an abortion?

February 11, 2016
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How To Die: Simon’s Choice was filmed over the last few months of Simon Binner's life, following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease, all set against the backdrop of…

Dignity in Dying and the callous indignity of their spin

September 13, 2015
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How many of us breathed a big sigh of relief when the voting results for the Assisted Dying (No.2) Bill were announced? Those in the know were expecting a…

Assisted Dying: Canon Rosie Harper condemns "extreme and emotive claims" of "a certain section of believers"

September 11, 2015
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The Archbishop of Canterbury couldn't be any clearer: 'MPs must not take risks with the lives of vulnerable people', he writes in the Evening Standard. He is unequivocal, too,…

Dignity in Dying tell clergy to promote assisted suicide this Sunday

September 5, 2015
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According to the rules of etiquette, it is best not to discuss politics or religion in polite company. You can probably add the subject of death to that, too.…

Assisted dying? Suicide courts, not doctors, will judge the merits of your death

August 10, 2015
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This iniquitous Bill refuses to die. It keeps re-emerging like a Godzilla sequel; forever coming back like the proverbial bad penny – unwanted, unpleasant, unfortunate. We are told that…

The cult of Comrade Corbyn

August 9, 2015
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A cult is a small, unpopular religion. A religion is a large and fashionable cult. When the disesteemed and shunned become desirable and popular, there follows respect, if not…

Assisted suicide and the unbearable indignity of the insupportable life

August 3, 2015
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"I can't take this anymore," said Chantal Sebire (left), as the cancerous bulge ate into her nasal cavity and gnawed at her brain, robbing her of sight, taste and…

Canon Rosie Harper on the "good girl guides" who have been consecrated bishop

July 23, 2015
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"We haven't had anyone from left field," said the left-field Canon Rosie Harper to the left-field BBC, as two wonderful, gifted women were consecrated bishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury…

Norman Lamb's tactics prove only Farron deserves to be LibDem leader

June 27, 2015
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By this weekend 61,000 LibDem members should have received their leadership ballot papers. It’s a straight shootout with the prize of either dragging the party back from the precipice…

"What ceremony else?" Church of England to reform burial of suicides

January 7, 2015
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"What ceremony else?" cries Laertes in Hamlet, as his dead sister Ophelia is buried to a single tolling bell with a meagre liturgy, as all suspected suicides used to…

Lord Carey is wrong to support state-sanctioned assisted suicide

January 3, 2015
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Apparently the UK is "closer than ever" to introducing legislation which will permit the terminally ill to end their lives at a time and place of their choosing. Lord…

Clampdown on Twitter Trolls who 'vigorously' express an opinion

October 20, 2014
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Trolling used to have a clear definition. In the OED, it still does, and we're not talking about the leisure pursuits of cave-dwelling giants or the domestic dawdling of…