BOGOTA, Colombia -- The Constitutional Court drew sharp criticism from the Roman Catholic Church on Friday after it upheld a ruling legalizing euthanasia for some terminally ill patients in Colombia.
"It's an attack on life, which is especially monstrous in a society where we've lost all sense of direction because of so much violence," said Msgr. Dario Molina, bishop of the northwest city of Monteria.
He was referring to the court's 6-3 decision Thursday to reject an appeal against its original decision to decriminalize euthanasia, which was handed down in May.
The appeal was filed by Msgr. Alberto Giraldo, the president of Colombia's Episcopal Conference. Before the ruling in May, Colombia's penal code set a maximum six-year prison term for anyone who helped seriously ill or injured people to die. Court Magistrate Carlos Gaviria, a self-described atheist and leading proponent of euthanasia, has said Colombia's Congress will be asked to set the precise terms under which euthanasia can be carried out.
Colombia is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, and church officials have said they hope Congress will overturn the court ruling, as Australia's did after the world's first euthanasia lawwas passed by the Northern Territory government in July 1996.
Bishop Leonardo Gomez said the court's decision "supports the theory of death over life because it precipitates its destruction through the argument of relieving pain."