Being Mature: On the Legalisation of Euthanasia

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Image: footage.shutterstock.com

What does it mean by being “mature” as a society?

It is the word used by Madame Véronique Hivon, the MNA from the Québec provincial legislature. She spearheaded the passing of Bill 52, which legalised euthanasia in this Canadian province last week. She suggested that the citizens in the province of Québec are mature enough to discuss sensitive matters such as this. A similar issue (physician-assisted suicide) has already been discussed on our blog, and it is not my intention to repeat what has already been said. Rather, I would like to (no puns intended) take a stab at the mentality of “mature”.

Translating the “Christian Message”

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

(Credit: http://catholiccartoonblog.blogspot.com)

As an attempt to improve my French, I am currently enrolled in an intensive program at the University of Laval in Québec City. Given that I spent the first two years of my Jesuit formation in Montréal, my French is good enough to get by (or je me débrouille). This is not the case with many of my fellow classmates, who often struggle mightily to explain themselves. They cannot find the right words and phrases, because they only know the English ones. To this, our professor comments that we just need to find another way to express ourselves in French. I find this simple remark interesting for several reasons.