Church will never approve the deliberate taking of human life, says Mexican cardinal

Mexico City, Mexico, May 24, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Commenting on a bill sponsored by Mexico’s Democratic Revolution Party which would legalize euthanasia in the country, the Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, said the Church will always oppose the killing of human life.

“Homicide and suicide will always be against God’s will, because we are not the absolute owners of our lives and nobody is allowed to deliberately act to the take the life of another person,” the cardinal maintained.

“All human beings have the right to live from the time they are in the maternal womb until their very last days,” he added, underscoring that, “The Church is not opposed to debate nor to opinions, but she will always make known her principles and what the will of God is regarding human life.”

The cardinal’s comments were published by the Archdiocesan newspaper, Desde la fe.

The paper points out that despite the right to life guaranteed by the Mexican Constitution, “aberrant proposals that openly contradict this right to decriminalize or supposedly guarantee ‘the right’ to commit homicide, as in the case of abortion and euthanasia, are popping up today.”

The attempt to legalize these attacks against life, the paper warns, is being done with the support of “fierce ideological campaigns for public opinion” and under the guise of scientific and human rights advancement.

“Freedom that is not accompanied by the truth and by the good,” states the paper, “perishes and becomes self-destructive.  This is reflected in the most recent case in Mexico of representatives of a certain political party seeking to legalize euthanasia.”