DECREE
Issuing “Instruction Regarding Sacraments and Funerals in Situations Involving Physician Assisted Suicide”
It is with sadness but also with hope that I issue the “Instruction Regarding Sacraments and Funerals in Situations Involving Physician Assisted Suicide.” It is with sadness because of the new law which permits such actions in the State of Hawaii, contravening the law of God. But it is with hope because of the possibility that some may be led to contrition and repentance and a sharing in God’s mercy as a result of these procedures.
The supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls, and as the chief pastor of the Diocese of Honolulu, I must put the goal of eternal life with God as my top priority for the people of the state. I hope that this document will give guidance to the clergy, parish staffs and others who minister to the sick to further that end.
The state law allowing physician-assisted suicide, euphemistically called the “Our Care, Our Choice Act,” goes into effect on January 1, 2019. In order to allow for pastoral preparation this instruction goes into effect immediately.
Given at the Office of the Bishop on the fifth day of November 2018.
Most Reverend Clarence Silva
Bishop of Honolulu