Caucus against assisted suicide

A resolution opposing assisted suicide in Minnesota will be introduced at the Feb. 25 caucuses. I therefore encourage your readers to do what they can to support this resolution, especially since the leadership of the American Nursing Association (ANA) is now departing from its historical position, namely that nurses should not participate in assisted suicide. The latest ANA draft: The nurse should be non-judgmental when discussing end of life options with patients who are exploring “aid in dying.” The nurse must have self-awareness of his/her personal values regarding “aid in dying” and how these values might affect the patient/nurse relationship. The nurse must protect the confidentiality of the patient who chooses “aid in dying.” The nurse must remain non-judgmental about and protect the confidentiality of healthcare professionals who are present during the “aid in dying” process as well as those who choose not to be present. (Excerpted from Wesley J. Smith’s article in the winter 2020 publication of “Lifeline.”)

Roland Mayer
Epiphany, Coon Rapids

Get to know the ‘other’

(Re: ‘Lonsdale pastor apologizes for ‘words that were hurtful to Muslims,’ Jan. 29 at TheCatholicSpirit.com.) The controversy over Father Nick VanDeBroeke’s homily, given on Migration Sunday and the Feast of the Epiphany no less, clearly denotes a need for further education and conversation on Church teaching regarding our immigrant brothers and sisters. We as Catholics all need to wrestle with how to open our hearts to whoever is the “other” in our midst and respond as Jesus would have. We do not need any more divisive rhetoric spewed into our lives. We as Catholics and members of a diverse and polarized society need messages from the pulpit encouraging us to encounter one another, to build bridges with one another and to not tolerate or succumb to fear rhetoric. I work at Ascension in north Minneapolis and have attended services at the mosque two blocks away. Let’s get to know the “other” and truly engage in building relationships if genuinely committed to following his example.

Anne Attea
Ascension, Minneapolis

Helping others not ‘either/or’

In response to the writer who opposed granting asylum to migrants as well as allowing legal immigrants to reside in Minnesota, I would point out that our Somali neighbors contribute with the taxes they pay, just as we U.S.-born Minnesotans do. When considering the impact of the immigrant population, there is a large net financial gain, not loss, by virtue of their contributions to our tax base and GNP. Having just returned from time spent in the border witness immersion program in McAllen, Texas, I can state that the situation for asylum seekers is much more grim under the Trump administration. At this time, no Central Americans are being allowed entry while awaiting their hearings. These are people fleeing the worst imaginable violence, risking their very lives to escape the danger in their countries. What parent would take this risk, unless desperation led them to it? They leave behind the land they love, their culture, their belongings. They are forced to live in squalid camps on the Mexican side of the border, with no resources other than what is provided by volunteer organizations. I agree that we need to take care of our native-born homeless as well as homeless veterans, but it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. We have the resources. What we lack is the will — and the legislation that will provide a safe, legal way to address the plight of the migrants and asylum seekers. Jesus taught us to welcome the alien, as my grandparents were welcomed when they fled the situation in Czechoslovakia two generations ago. My grandma, who was 5 at the time, remembered someone handing her a banana, a precious and unfamiliar gift. It seems we have run out of bananas.

Karen Thimm
St. Gerard Majella, Brooklyn Park