Several leading figures within the Catholic Church in Spain have criticized the assisted suicide of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo, who was euthanized in Barcelona on Thursday after winning a lengthy court battle.
Bishop of the Canary Islands José Mazuelos Pérez, commented on the case, stating, “We have all failed as a society.” He argued that the option of euthanasia represents another step towards a “culture of death,” throwing in the towel on the humanization of medicine.
There is a desire to require the doctor to end Noelia’s life, when a doctor’s mission is to cure and, if they cannot cure, to accompany and relieve.
Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, struck a similar tone:
A doctor cannot act as the executioner for a death sentence, however legal, empowering, or compassionate it may appear.
