Latest news with #CatholicDioceseofRockford
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Illinois one step closer to legalizing medically-assisted suicide
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — A bill that would allow a doctor to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients passed the Illinois House on Thursday. The 'End of Life Options Act' would give a mentally sound adult with six months or less to live the option to get medication to die peacefully with the help of a prescription. 'I think that one of the most frightening things about death for most of us is that it means the ultimate loss of control,' Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) . 'Death, like life, is easier to navigate when you know you will have options to choose from, even if you never need to or even if you choose not to.' Under the bill, a physician must first provide information about comfort care, palliative care, and pain control, and the patient must be able to self-ingest the medication. They would have to make two oral requests and a written request, and the request must be witnessed by two people who attest the patient is acting voluntarily and with a sound mind. 'Oral and written requests for aid in dying may be made only by the patient and shall not be made by the patient's surrogate decision-maker, health care proxy, health care agent, attorney-in-fact for health care, guardian, nor via advance health care directive,' the bill reads. This legislation will also require doctors to talk about all end-of-life care options, including medical aid in dying. Life insurance payments cannot be denied to the families of those who use the law. A poll taken two years ago showed that 7 out of 10 Illinois voters supported medical aid in dying legislation. The Catholic Diocese of Rockford was among the groups opposing the act, with Bishop David Malloy , 'In states with legalized suicide, there are documented cases of insurance companies refusing to pay for the necessary care of the terminally ill while at the same time, they will cover the small cost of the drugs resulting in the end of life.' Malloy also quoted the American Medical Association as saying, 'Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would provide serious societal risks.' If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois would become the 11th state to allow medically assisted suicide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
22-04-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin faithful remember Pope Francis for his humility and support for the downtrodden
Elgin-area Catholics are remembering with fondness the life and legacy of Pope Francis, who died Monday of a cerebral stroke at the age of 88. 'He was the people's pope,' said Rafael Villagomez, a deacon at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elgin. 'He stood up for immigrants, the poor and the environment.' Villagomez, a Mexican immigrant and Elgin real estate agent, said that for Hispanics and for Latin America, Pope Francis was a big deal. He not only was someone who came from a similar background and spoke their language but represented hope, he said. Born in Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the Catholic Church's 266th pope and the first from Latin America. Villagomez said he and his family attended a group mass said by the pope in St. Peter's Square in spring 2018 and were able to see him as he drove in his specially designed vehicle. 'You could feel the energy, the spiritual energy in the crowd,' he said. Margarita Mendoza, of Elgin, also had a chance to see the pope in action. As the editor of El Observador, a Catholic Diocese of Rockford publication for its Spanish-speaking parishioners, she covered Francis' September 2017 trip to Colombia. 'The police there had been in several violent confrontations against guerrillas, drug dealers and terrorists. However, they cried when they saw Pope Francis,' Mendoza said. During the trip, she saw the pope as he interacted with business owners, from mom-and-pop operations to large stores. During one stop, he planted a tree in Villavicencio, symbolic of the peace he hoped would continue in the area, she said. It was interesting to see the fervor of the Catholic faith found in the Columbian people, Mendoza said. While attendance at churches in the U.S. was dwindling, in Colombia they were opening more parishes because of response Francis inspired, she said. 'It means a lot for people who speak Spanish to hear from a pope who speaks their language,' Mendoza said. Bergoglio was the first pope to choose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment who took a vow of poverty and was concerned about the downtrodden. That was clearly something the pope embraced, said Monsignor Arquimedes Vallejo, pastor of St. Joseph church and St. Edward Catholic Preparatory Academy in Elgin. 'Pope Francis spent his life looking out for the poor and those who are suffering,' he said. 'The Hispanic community, they felt close to him.' Pope Francis was also someone who went to those in need and invited them to come to the church, Vallejo said. He looked at people as individuals who could take the message of Jesus to heart, he said. The pope's death also saddened Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein, who leads Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin. 'He was a mensch, a good person, who championed the cause of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the most marginalized,' she said. 'He cared for the environment. He was passionate about making peace. He also decried antisemitism in all its forms. He was a humble man, full of grace, compassion and mercy. He was a role model for us all.' Barbara Ferguson, a Sleepy Hollow resident involved at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in West Dundee for more than 40 years, said she admired Pope Francis' simplicity. 'He was a more human type of pope,' Ferguson said. While Francis may have been a little bit more progressive than she, and some other Catholics, were ready for, she couldn't fault him for trying to push things forward, she said. 'He seemed to be one step ahead of where the church is ready to go, and that's not a bad thing,' Ferguson said. Mendoza, though, said Francis's stance on the LGBTQ+ community has been misinterpreted by some. 'He did not approve gay marriage. Still, he welcomed gay people to the church and blessed them because we are all human and we are all creatures of God,' Mendoza said. What was not lost on those interviewed was that Pope Francis was working until his death. He said his last mass on Easter Sunday for those who gathered in St. Peter's Square and delivered another plea for peace across the Earth. 'How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children. How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,' he said. 'On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas. For all of us are children of God.' That's a message that many hope the College of Cardinals takes into account when choosing Francis' successor, Villagomez said. 'I hope that they choose someone who can be a beacon of peace. That's what's needed, especially in the Middle East,' he said.
