Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio Bishops: Blanket DNR for Britons with learning disabilities ‘immoral’
Medical orders against attempting to resuscitate patients with learning disabilities in the UK are “wholly unacceptable and immoral”, said the bishops of England and Wales.
Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton issued a February 16 statement denouncing the practice of imposing Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders on such patients during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government said it does not support the practice and has notified all health care providers to desist, threatening further action.
“In a time when we are being given so much hope by the efficient rollout of the vaccination program, it is shocking to hear that people with learning disabilities are being made the victims of such discrimination,” said Bishop Moth.
Bishops oppose radioactive discharge from Fukushima plant
Catholic bishops in South Korea and Japan have issued a joint statement to strongly oppose the Japanese government’s decision to discharge radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
“We oppose the discharge of tritium-containing water, a radioactive material that has been purified and treated, into the ocean,” said a joint statement from the Justice and Peace Commissions of the bishops’ conferences of Korea and Japan, the Korean bishops’ ecological and environmental committee and the Japanese bishops’ subcommittee on nuclear for peace.
“Once released into the sea, radioactive material cannot be restored to its original state. It will have impacts on humans and nature. It will cause greater anxiety and damage to people around the world.”
Vatican not mentioned in China’s new rules on bishop appointments
According to new rules which will reportedly take effect on May 1, China’s state-run Catholic Church and bishops’ conference will select, approve, and ordain episcopal candidates – with no mention of the Vatican’s involvement in the process.
Under the new rules, the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) will be responsible for selecting episcopal candidates. The candidates will then be “approved and consecrated by the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference”.
The rules do not mention any role of the Vatican in approving bishops, despite the 2018 Vatican-China agreement reportedly involving both Chinese authorities and the Holy See in the process of appointing bishops.
China’s new “Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy” will come into effect on May 1 and were translated by the magazine Bitter Winter, which reports on religious freedom conditions in China.
Arctic weather prompts emergency response from US Church leaders
Sub-zero temperatures, teeth-chattering wind chills and deep snow turned the southern plains into an arctic landscape, forcing Catholic charities agencies to adopt emergency measures to get people to safety.
Rolling power blackouts in Texas and Oklahoma left some families without heat for hours at a time, necessitating the opening of at least one church in the Diocese of Dallas to endangered people.
The lack of electricity and the cold weather led parishes throughout the region to cancel Ash Wednesday Masses and the distribution of ashes for the first time in memory.
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio granted dispensation from fasting and abstinence for the day that marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent.