Euthanasia, approved in Parliament last week, is one of the themes addressed by D. Manuel Neto Quintas, bishop of the Algarve, in his Christmas message this year, calling for the «defence of life».
"Human life is always a precious gift, in all its stages, from conception to death, which should never be intentionally provoked", reads the message from the prelate from the Algarve.
Echoing a document from the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), issued on the 7th, the bishop of the Algarve finds it strange that «those who legislate and govern us» do not put «the same commitment and the same determination, in providing our system of health and palliative care accessible to all, so fundamental to combating and alleviating suffering» and consider that «the use of euthanasia and assisted suicide as a faster and less costly solution».
Very critical of the recently approved law, D. Manuel Neto Quintas calls on families and health professionals to see «conscientious objection always guaranteed», considering that no one should feel «embarrassed» to resort to this possibility that now will become legal, "for lack of due assistance".
The prelate from the Algarve points out that, "accompanying and comforting those who suffer and those who care for them, helps to restore hope and is a sign of the dignity of human life until its natural end", state "the reception, defense and promotion of life, beyond the legislative and juridical order».
In fact, D. Manuel Neto Quintas even considers that «welcoming, promoting, defending, celebrating life as the gift par excellence of God is the great lesson that we relearn at each Christmas and at each birth of a new human being».
The Bishop of the Algarve also highlights, in his message, his concern and sadness at the existence, in the world, of several wars, with particular emphasis on Ukraine, where the conflict has been «relentless in its destructive action of goods and lives innocent human beings, whose consequences reach us, with the rise in the prices of basic necessities, causing an increase in poverty».
D. Manuel Neto Quintas, referring to a letter sent by the Archbishop of the Greek-Catholic Church of Kiev, Sviatoslav Schevchuk, addressed to the President of CEP and to all Portuguese bishops, asks all Christians in the Algarve to respond to his request « of an “urgent financial support”, thinking particularly about the continuity of aid to the most needy, the maintenance of the Major Seminary (105 seminarians) and the support of the clergy made up of 370 priests, who continue to lead the communities of this vast archdiocese, constituted by four districts and ten regions, among which the war made us known: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijia; Karkiv, Odessa, Mykolaiv».
The Algarve Bishop's message ends with a "I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a New Year blessed by the presence of God-Child, source of full Life, who I invite you to welcome in joy, hope and peace".
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