Catholics are being urged to sign a national petition to stop plans to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland.
Care Not Killing (CNK), supported by the Catholic Parliamentary Office, has launched the petition to show how strong the level of resistance is in Scotland against Liam McArthur MSP's proposed assisted suicide Bill.
The bill risks undermining the provision of palliative care and undermining efforts to prevent suicide.
It will make the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, feel like a burden and its safeguards will prove futile.
Bishop Hugh Gilbert, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said: “As Catholics we must reject assisted suicide and encourage rather the enhanced provision of palliative care for the elderly, the disabled, and the vulnerable who are such a precious part of our society."
Not safe
Anthony Horan, Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office, said: “There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ law which allows assisted suicide. So-called ‘safeguards’ will be stripped away, and the law expanded to include an increasing number of vulnerable people.
"Evidence from other countries shows us that those who suffer from mental ill health, the disabled, and even children, are not safe. The current law is the safeguard. We should be caring for people, not killing them.”
Parishes are invited to hold a Petition Day on a Sunday during October to promote the petition and gather as many signatures as possible.