"In Support of Life" Initiative Is Well Received in Fall River Parishes

By John E. Kearns Jr. Assistant Director Of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor, June 9, 2000, at 2.

FALL RIVER — With a number of informational sessions held at parish and deanery levels and with 90 percentof parishes having already appointed a representative contact person, implementation in the diocese of the "In Support of Life: Comfort and Care for the Dying" initiative is "moving along forward according to plans," said Mercy Sister Elaine Heffeman, assistant diocesan coordinator for the program.

The aim of the initiative is torespond to the needs of the dying and the threat of physician-assisted suicide. It is a collaborative effort of tie Massachusetts Catholic Conference and the four dioceses in the state.

Concem for the growing acceptance of physician-assisted suicide prompted the bishops of Massachusetts to launch the program to bring the values of the Gospel of Life into that debate and others involving end-of-life issues.

In its initial phase, "In Support of Life" calls for widespread educational efforts on the Church’s consistent life ethic with a focus on end-of-life issues and on positive alternatives to physician-assisted suicide.

In response, a number of informational opportunities have taken place since the beginning of the year, Sister Heffeman reported.

Initially, sessions were held in each of the five deaneries of the diocese for those asked by the pastors to serve as contact persons to assist with the program in their respective parishes.

Depending on the locale, these sessions were led by Sister Heffeman; Patricia Dolan, a physician assistant; Father Mark R. Hession, a member of the Ethics Committee at Saint Anne’s Hospital; and Dr. Mary Pat Tranter. who has designed and taught courses in bioethics and is the author of the "In Support of Life Training Manual?’

Following those sessions in the Taunton and Attleboro deaneries, parish contacts decided to sponsor evening discussion programs with a question and answer period for a larger representation of fellow parishioners. Tranter was the principal presenter. Every parish in those deaneries had representatives at the gatherings, Sister Heffeman reported.

Many priests have introduced the program to their parish community during Masses with the airing of a video and the distribution of brochures. Some have taken it a step further and hosted parish information meetings to provide parishioners with a longer forum in which to learn about the program.

"In Support of Life" was the focus of a later winter workshop for members of the ethics committees of the five diocesan nursing homes and the Diocesan Ethics Committee. Speaking at the workshop were Father James O’Donoghue, an ethics professor at Boston College, and Maria Parker, the statewide director of the Support of Life initiative.

The Office of Adult Education offered an eight-week course on the "Christian Meaning of Human Suffering and End of Life Issues," led by director Lisa M. Gulino, Tranter and guest speakers from the health-care profession.

Two programs at diocesan high schools also address the topic. Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton sponsored a "Human Awareness" Day: Celebrating Life" with guest speaker Dan Avila, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference’s associate director of Public Policy, while at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth, a presentation on Christian teaching on human suffering was incorporated into the sophomore health studies cuniculum.

Besides its educational component, the "In Support of Life" initiative also has pastoral, communications and public policy dimensions. Sister Heffernan said that diocesan and statewide task forces are working with the MCC staff to accomplish objectives in those areas.