The Bishop of Shrewsbury has expressed his sadness after assisted suicide was voted narrowly through the House of Commons.

The Rt Rev. Mark Davies described the vote of 314 votes to 291, a majority of just 23, at the Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill as “seismic” and said he hoped that the battle to defeat the legislation would continue.

Bishop Davies said: “It is a sad moment for us all and especially for those most vulnerable that the House of Commons has opened the door to euthanasia in the guise of ‘assisted dying’.”

“We may be incredulous that such a seismic change to society was effected by what is widely acknowledged to be a deeply-flawed Bill passed after a few hours of debate, albeit with a small majority.”

“We can hope that in the House of Lords there may be a reassessment of this legislation with all its dangers.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said Catholics must also do whatever they could to persuade peers to reject the Bill as it begins its way through the House of Lords.

The Cardinal described the vote by MPs to approve the Bill as “a watershed moment in the history of our country”. “It fundamentally changes society’s long held values and relationships on matters of life and death.”

The private member’s Bill of Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, will allow adults who are deemed to have fewer than six months to live the right to be assisted by a medic in committing suicide.

The Catholic Church is fundamentally opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide because they directly contradict the Fifth Commandment.

(Photo © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk)