The approval of the decree on medically assisted death in Portugal was criticised by Pope Francis, who will be travelling to the country in August for World Youth Day and plans to visit the Shrine of Fatima.
The Vatican head of state spoke at a meeting with hundreds of representatives of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisation, where he also spoke about the celebrations of 13 May, “the day on which the apparitions of the Virgin Mother to the little shepherds of Fatima are celebrated.”
“Today, I am very sad because a law to kill has been enacted in the country where Our Lady appeared. One more step in the long list of countries that have approved euthanasia,” the Pope said at the Vatican, quoted by Agency Ecclesia.
The Pope, who will be in Portugal for World Youth Day, to be held in Lisbon between 1 and 6 August, plans to visit the Shrine of Fatima.
On Friday, the parliament confirmed the decree on medically assisted death, which had been vetoed by Portugal’s president, with 129 votes in favour, forcing its promulgation.
According to the Constitution of the Republic, when faced with a veto, parliament can confirm the text by an absolute majority of the seats in full exercise of their functions, 116 out of 230, in which case the president will have to promulgate the decree within eight days of receipt.
On the same day, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he would promulgate the euthanasia law because the Constitution he swore to uphold leaves no other choice.
“I swore to the Constitution. The Constitution obliges the president to promulgate a law that he vetoed, and that was confirmed by the parliament (…) it is my constitutional duty,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a practising Catholic, in Estarreja (Aveiro).
(Sílvia Reis | Edited by Nuno Simas | Lusa.pt)
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