Boycott Varnham funeral, Trigunian bishops tell World Congress
Turning their backs on Varnham's funeral
The bishops of the Terran Patriarchal Church and Aurorian Patriarchal Church in Trigunia have issued a joint statement condemning euthanasia as "not in accordance with the scriptures or with a meaningful understanding of the preciousness of human life". The statement goes on to call on ex-Hutori President Tiege Varnham "to urgently reconsider his decision to end his life, for the sake of his own soul and also for the spiritual welfare of those whom his decision may influence".
96-year old Tiege Varnham, who narrowly won the Hutori Presidency in June 4205 and held it until failing in his bid for re-election June 4209, has announced he wants to end his life through euthanasia next month.
More controversially, the bishops' statement adds:
If Mr. Varnham follows through with this tragic plan, then we cannot fail to emphasise that it would be entirely wrong and inappropriate for the World Congress to send a representative to the funeral. To do that would be for the World Congress to appear to endorse his decision to die by euthanasia, and that is something we and many billions of people all over Terra would be gravely disturbed by. Respect for human life was one of the key principles the World Congress was founded upon, so for the World Congress to do this would go completely against the values it claims to represent.
By convention, when a former Head of State dies, the General Secretary of the World Congress sends a representative to the funeral, and in some cases even appears him- or her-self. It is not yet known what Mariana Fonseca, the current General Secretary, intends to do with regards to the Varnham funeral.
Conservative Party leader Radoslav Dragunin has endorsed the bishops' statement, agreeing that "the spread of the ideology of euthanasia is one of the gravest threats to human welfare in Terra" and that "the World Congress has got to take a stand against this".
Euthanasia is currently legal in Trigunia, but is very controversial, with most conservative politicians and almost the entire religious establishment being strongly opposed to its practice.