Belgian archbishop says Catholic hospitals can deny euthanasia
The new head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium is demanding that faith-run hospitals and nursing homes have the right to refuse euthanasia to patients.
A 2002 law decriminalized euthanasia for terminally ill adults, and it has the support of a large majority of the public and politicians. But opposition in this historically Catholic country has grown as lawmakers extended the practice to include terminally ill children and people with severe psychological problems.
Jozef De Kesel, consecrated as archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and primate of Belgium in December, spoke about euthanasia in a recent interview with the daily Het Belang van Limburg.
