So, a Dutch priest has refused to conduct the funeral of a person who died by euthanasia. His choice, right? No. An uproar has ensued. From the story:
A priest in the parish of Liempde in North Brabant refused to conduct the funeral of a man who had chosen euthanasia, news agency ANP reports. Norbert van der Sluis said he was following the advice of bishops that people who choose euthanasia have no right to a church funeral. ‘Nor will my conscience allow me to have a colleague conduct the funeral in my church,’ he told ANP. The church council is so concerned at the refusal it has stopped a campaign for the repair of the church organ and is demanding an apology from Van der Sluis.
That will teach him to follow his faith. Let the organ stay off key!
Refusing a funeral wouldn’t be my preference, but it was the priest’s, and doesn’t his conscience deserve at least equal respect to that of the decedent’s to receive doctor-injected death? Here’s the bottom line: All of this talk of “choice” in the culture of death is just talk. It is really about enforced moral conformity.
