The campaign for assisted dying, as it is often called by advocates, has been widely discussed in recent months, and Parliament Member Kim Leadbetter has introduced a bill that will be debated on second reading in late November.

Polls indicate that 60-75 percent of U.K. citizens favor some form of legal assisted suicide. “There will be people who look at that and say the church is totally out of touch, that they totally disagree with us, and say they are going nowhere near a church, but we don’t do things on the basis of opinion polls,” Archbishop Justin Welby told the BBC.

Archbishop Welby added to his BBC interview by releasing a brief statement through his website.

The archbishop makes the further point that making assisted suicide legal creates pressure on other people, who do not suffer from terminal conditions, to submit to euthanasia.

“[L]egalizing assisted suicide would disproportionately impact many millions of vulnerable people, who might perceive themselves as a burden on those around them and the health service,” Welby said in his statement. “My concern is that once you can ask for assisted suicide, it soon becomes something that you feel that you ought to do. Permission slips into being duty. This does not represent true choice for all, and I worry that no amount of safeguards will ensure everyone’s safety at the most vulnerable point of their lives.”

“We should not legalise assisted suicide, we should be offering the best possible palliative care services to ensure the highest standards of care and compassion for all terminally ill patients,” said Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York. “No amount of safeguards could ensure the safety of the most vulnerable in society should there be a change in the law allowing for assisted suicide.

“There would be serious and fundamental consequences for the whole of society if these proposals are accepted, especially for those who are at the most vulnerable point of their lives and for those who love and care for them.”

Bishops have grounded their arguments in the traditional Christian doctrine that human beings have inherent dignity because they are made in the image of God. Cardinal Vincent Nichols has reiterated the Vatican’s teaching that assisted suicide violates human dignity.

The bishops of the Church of Wales also have joined in opposing Leadbeater’s initiative.

“This is an extremely difficult issue over which different people, including Christians, will have arrived at differing views with the best of intentions,” said a statement from the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, who was joined by the other bishops in Wales.

“Nonetheless, the protection of the most vulnerable people in our society from the risks inherent in this measure must be the paramount issue — for that reason, we cannot in good conscience support the proposed legislation.”

Some secular advocates have said bishops should be excluded from the discussion, or even ejected from the House of Lords altogether.

Leadbeater has expressed her confidence that safeguards can be established that prevent pressure on vulnerable people to accept an earlier death.

“There has to be a change in the law. I’m very clear about that. But we’ve got to get the detail right,” she told Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Newsnight on October 15.

“The status quo is not fit for purpose, and unfortunately I have spent time with lots of families who have been through similar, horrendous, end-of-life situations, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to put this legislation forward.”

Dr. Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle, wrote on X.com: “By all means let’s have the debate. Consideration should also be given to proper investment in palliative and social care. And let’s call it what it is: assisted suicide. It’s a slippery slope and an absolute degradation of the value of human life.”

Grein was a native of Bemidji, Minnesota. He was an alumnus of Carleton College and Nashotah House Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Sacred Theology. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1959, and taught pastoral theology at Nashotah House in 1973-74.

Grein served at parishes in Minnesota and Kansas before his election as seventh Bishop of Kansas in 1981. “Bishop Richard Grein has left a lasting legacy through his theological preaching and teaching, revivification of the diaconate, and establishment of women’s ordination in the Diocese of Kansas,” said Cathleen Bascom, 10th Bishop of Kansas. “He continued and deepened the spiritual practices that keep [the diocese] tethered close to the heart of God. He will be deeply missed and fondly remembered.”

During his seven years as Bishop of New York, Grein joined in ecumenical gatherings with Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and Eastern Orthodox leaders, and was chairman of the House of Bishops’ Commission on Pastoral Letters. He was a contributor to the books On Being a Bishop and Anglican Theology and Pastoral Care. He was bishop visitor to the Community of the Holy Spirit, the Community of St. Mary, and the Order of the Holy Cross.

In 2001, the Rev. Janet Kraft sued Grein in federal court for wrongful dismissal. She sought $6.8 million in damages. Grein settled with Kraft in 2004 for what she told The New York Times was “several hundred thousand dollars, but not a million.”

Mullin was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Mountainside. He majored in history at the College of William & Mary, then earned a master of arts in religion at Yale Divinity School and a Ph.D. in religion from Yale University. His doctoral dissertation became his first book, Episcopal Vision/American Reality: High Church Theology and Social Thought in Evangelical America (Yale, 1986).

He taught at North Carolina State University in Raleigh from 1985 to 1998, and became a full professor. From 1998 to 2014 he taught at General Theological Seminary, where he was the Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning Professor of History and World Mission, Professor of Modern Anglican Studies, and served as subdean of academic affairs. He was a committed ecumenist and a board member of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.

He is survived by his wife, Judith Walker Mullin; a sister; a daughter; and two grandsons.

The Rev. Thomas C. Shepherd, who helped form a ministry among ex-prisoners and their families, died July 19 at 86.

He was born in Toledo, Ohio, and was a graduate of the University of Toledo and Bexley Hall Seminary. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1963.

He worked as a parish priest in Ohio, taught at Trinity-Pawling School in New York, and then taught at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Rome. He returned to parish ministry in Walden, N.Y. While serving at Christ Church in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, he helped found Friends of Prisoners. When he retired in 2000, the program had helped 1,000 ex-offenders.

In his retirement years, he was active in Integrity and in Sons of the American Revolution.

He is survived by a brother, a niece, and a nephew. A funeral Eucharist will be livestreamed from All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale, in early fall.

The Rev. Mary Luck Stanley, who in 2020 became co-rector of Old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, died July 3 at age 60.

“She was a faithful presence who didn’t need the limelight, but deserved it,” Bishop Carrie Schofield-Broadbent said. “Old St. Paul’s is a totally new parish today and thrived under her and her husband, Mark, who is co-rector.”

Old St. Paul’s, founded in 1692, is known as the Mother Church of Baltimore. “We cherish people so they’ll know they’re cherished by God,” she told The Baltimore Sun in 2017. “We’re trying to bring a spirit of love to this part of downtown Baltimore.”

She was born in Houston and grew up in Dallas, and was an alumnus of Texas A&M University and Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Stanley was one of the authors of Grace in the Rearview Mirror: Four Women Priests on Brokenness, Belonging, and the Beauty of God (Wipf & Stock, 2023).

She is survived by her husband, a brother, and two grown children.

Other Deaths

“I remain of the view that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction in respect of each allegation. Given the standard of proof is the balance of probabilities and there is no requirement for corroboration, I am satisfied that there is a legal sufficiency of evidence,” Reid wrote in a seven-page explanatory note.

Turning to the complainants’ concerns, Reid wrote: “It has become apparent that the prospect of giving evidence, and in particular facing cross-examination in a public forum, is a source of anxiety for a number of potential witnesses. Whilst I have proceeded on the basis that the Tribunal would be sympathetic to any application for special measures, I recognize that extensive cross-examination is likely given the sharp factual disputes which arise.

“Those concerns are related to a second issue, the likely date for trial. It has become clear that fresh trial dates are unlikely before the Spring of 2025. In a case which turns on first-hand accounts of events which are already a number of years ago, that is unfortunate. More significantly, it further extends the period those already anxious about giving evidence have to wait.”

The charges against Dyer were based in part on disputes with leaders at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Aberdeen. Dyer, in turn, said her accusers had bullied her. Her ministry was suspended in 2022 to give the church time to investigate the charges and decide whether to bring her to trial.

Because of Reid’s decision, Dyer’s suspension from ministry was lifted immediately. She will return to office on October 24.

“As I return, I am aware that there are still matters of dispute dividing the diocese. These are well known and are preventing this diocese moving forward in mission and ministry. These will need to be addressed through a process of conversations, mediation, and reconciliation. To do this we will need a change of heart,” Dyer wrote in a brief pastoral letter.

She quoted Ephesians 4:32 and Romans 12:18 on the importance of Christians living at peace with each other, and added: “My prayer for myself, and for you, is that by God’s grace and power we are able to do this.”

The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney comprises 46 congregations in the city and county of Aberdeen, as well as the Orkney and Shetland Island groups north of the Scottish mainland.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is an independent province of the Anglican Communion that reported membership of 27,585 in 2019. It is the third-largest church in Scotland, after the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) and the Roman Catholic Church.

Iker, a native of Cincinnati, served as rector of Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota, Florida, before his election as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Forth Worth.

Iker was consecrated bishop coadjutor in 1993 and became the diocese’s third bishop in January 1995. Iker was beloved among conservatives, and some called him “the lion of Forth Worth.” Among those who remained loyal to the Episcopal Church, he was often depicted in a villainous light, and became the subject of lawsuits involving church property.

After the majority left the Episcopal Church in 2008, what remained of the Diocese of Fort Worth first renamed itself the Episcopal Church in North Texas and later became the North Region of the Diocese of Texas.

“I am the most sued Anglican bishop in all of North America,” Iker told journalist Mary Ann Mueller in 2010.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Iker’s diocese in December 2019. The case involved $100 million in church properties. Five churches loyal to the Episcopal Church appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

“Throughout that whole period of what looked at the time, in 2018 and 2019, to be a terminal battle of cancer, he never stopped being a leader and a guide,” the Rev. Canon Joel Hampton told Marissa Greene of the Fort Worth Report. “For a lot of us, he was the embodiment of what it means to be courageous and steadfast.”

Iker formed a close friendship with Bishop Fanuel Magangani of Northern Malawi, who mourned for him in a Facebook post.

“I first met Bishop Iker in July 1996 when he visited the Diocese of Northern Malawi alongside 13 dedicated members. That time I was a youth member aspiring to become a priest. That visit marked the dawn of a transformative partnership between our Diocese and the Diocese of Fort Worth. It was not merely a connection across vast distances; it was the beginning of a journey that would strengthen our ministry and enhance our collective mission,” Bishop Magangani wrote.

“His unwavering dedication to Christ and his fellow believers exemplified true leadership and servanthood. As we mourn the loss of an incredible leader, let us remember the incredible gift of community he bestowed upon us. We are forever grateful for the spiritual and pastoral foundations he laid. Bishop Iker will remain in our hearts, a guiding light leading us to continue the work he so passionately championed.”