Priests and bishops who have spoken out against MAID

(If you know of a Priest or Bishop who has spoken out against MAID, please provide me with a link and I will update this entry to reflect that.)

Priests for Life here and here.

Fr Mark Goring speaking from the pulpit (this seems me to be the most effective way to speak directly to Catholics).

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) acts as the collective voice, several high-ranking Canadian clergy and individual priests have been particularly vocal in their opposition to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Their advocacy often focuses on legal challenges, public statements, and pastoral warnings about the expansion of eligibility. [1, 2, 3]

Prominent Archbishops & Bishops

• Cardinal Francis (Frank) Leo (Archbishop of Toronto): In April 2026, he wrote directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Members of Parliament to advocate for Bill C-218, which seeks to exclude mental illness as a sole condition for MAiD. He urged a "free vote" on the legislation, calling for a "civilization that cares for those suffering and does not eliminate them".
• Archbishop Christian Lépine (Archbishop of Montreal): He launched a significant legal challenge in February 2024 against Quebec's end-of-life legislation. He argues that forcing Catholic palliative care centers like St. Raphael's to offer MAiD violates institutional freedom of conscience.
• Bishop Mark Hagemoen (Bishop of Saskatoon): Along with other Saskatchewan bishops, he issued a pastoral letter titled "Dying with Hope: Living and Walking Together" in April 2025. He has publicly criticized the "romanticized accounts" of assisted suicide in mainstream culture and advocated for increased mental health resources.
• Archbishop J. Michael Miller (Archbishop of Vancouver): He released specific guidelines as early as 2017 regarding the pastoral care of those considering MAiD, emphasizing that life is sacred from conception to natural death. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Individual Priests & Pastoral Voices

• Fr. Larry Holland (Archdiocese of Vancouver): He shared a personal account of being twice offered MAiD by hospital staff while recovering from a hip fracture in 2026. He spoke out against the "coercive" nature of medical staff initiating these conversations with patients who have deeply held religious objections.
• Fr. Lynn (Vancouver): In interviews, he described the practice of medical practitioners proactively offering MAiD to vulnerable persons as "diabolical" and an attack on patient identity.
• Fr. William Ha and Bishop Gordon (Victoria): Participated in a panel discussion at St. Andrew's Cathedral in 2026 to discuss the "cultural shift" regarding human worth and the dangers of expanding MAiD criteria.
• Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk (National Catholic Bioethics Center): Though a bioethicist, he provides widely used commentary in Canada criticizing the "idolizing" of medical power and science over the sanctity of life. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]