In brief

Adoption: lukewarm enthusiasm to the rulingA faint ray of hope has been shed over the two Catholic adoption agencies that lodged an appeal against British legislation envisaging adoptive parenthood to homosexual couples, which goes against Church teaching. The “Charity Tribunal”, the appeal body that addresses cases of charities whose rights are not provided for in current legislation, ruled that the Catholic adoption agencies “Fr. Hudson’s Society” in Birmingham and “Catholic Care” in Leeds could change their statute into granting adoptive parenthood to heterosexual couples only. According to the Catholic Weekly “Tablet” which reported the news, operative details to this regard are yet to be defined. According to the British Court the new regulations against sexual discrimination introduced in 2006 enable charities to select couples on the basis of their sexual orientation, provided that the “charity” continues acting in favour of the public good. The court declared that this is a new legislative context and therefore agencies’ activities will need to be carefully assessed before reaching a definitive decision and enabling them to start working again. Mark Wiggin, the editor of “Catholic Care” in Leeds received the ruling with lukewarm enthusiasm since the two agencies interrupted their activity in January and will resume only when they are sure they are not violating the law. The court ruling won’t have an impact on the other Catholic adoption agencies in Great Britain that decided to shut down or to consider homosexual couples for adoption.Scotland: chaplains’ access to patients deniedA health authority in Glasgow won’t allow priests to know whether Catholics are among the hospitals’ patients. The news was reported by Scotland’s “Sunday Herald”. The health authority “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde”, recently denied Protestant pastors and priests the possibility of viewing the patients’ name-lists claiming that such practice violates the patients’ right to privacy. A spokesperson of the Catholic Church criticized the decision and explained that the patients are currently forced to wear religious-identification badges for spiritual counsel. “There is a difference between the need to protect the details of one’s bank account and the possibility for priests to know if a Catholic patient need his counsel – said the spokesperson of the Catholic Church -. A priest would never introduce himself in a hospital as an expert in medical questions”. In December 2008 the hospital’s officer in charge of patients’ information asked the staff not to make public the names of the patients for fear that such practice would violate confidentiality regulations of 1998. Government directives in this area are aimed at striking a balance between the patient’s right to spiritual care and confidentiality provisions. Assisted suicide: Msgr. Smith’s letter to the Times In a letter to the “Times” archbishop Peter Smith expressed his concern that Britain’s new regulations could be used to “enable assisted suicide abroad”. The news was given by the press office of the Catholic Church in London that disclosed the content of the letter. Archbishop Smith declared that “The Coroners and Justice Bill is aimed at laying down the law with respect to websites that promote and encourage suicide. However a number of MPs are trying to take advantage of these legitimate proposals, and while they outlaw suicide-promotion they provide for assisted suicide abroad”, the archbishop claimed. “Isn’t promoting access to assisted suicide like encouraging it?”, the Archbishop Smith asks in the letter. “Those who propose it advocate there is a difference between malicious suicide promotion and mercy killing. But most people don’t belong to these extreme categories”. There are “elderly parents that are seriously ill or infirm and who feel they are a burden for families experiencing difficult situations caused by recession, or sick relatives with a large inheritance to pass down who could be encouraged to premature death”. “Legislation in force doesn’t provide for their protection”, Smith wrote. “Assisted suicide is illegal, but if it were to become legal in certain circumstances it would open its doors” to those who would be led to believe that this “is the best solution for themselves and their dear ones”, Msgr. Smith declared.