An annual column

on suicide, by the brilliant and talented Fr. Ron Rolheiser...

Struggling to Understand Suicide

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Maybe it's lifestyle related?

People with Irish gangster Ned Kelly tattoos more likely to be murdered or commit suicide

"Australian professor found men with tattoo 7.7 times more likely to be murdered"

I don't think it's any kind of 'curse' or anything. Lifestyle and attitude/outlook are likely the main reasons.

They should get a control group of 20 retired grandmother-types to get a Ned Kelley tattoo and see how many die in that way. No, come to think about it, a high percentage would probably commit suicide after thinking 'What have I done getting this stupid tattoo?', so that wouldn't work...

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Prayer need

Priest Found Dead at Springfield Rectory Ruled a Suicide

Please take a moment to say a prayer for Fr. Paul Archambault, and the repose of his soul. It is such a tragedy. Then you might read this article, and others in his archive, by Fr. Ron Rolheiser. He writes a yearly column on suicide with a down-to-earth and pastoral voice. Suicide is something that's never easy to understand or explain, and incredibly difficult to deal with for the survivors...

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A frightening thought

Death Becomes Him 

"Over the past decade, Ludwig Minelli has helped more than 1,000 people kill themselves and has turned Zurich into the undisputed world capital of assisted suicide. Minelli sees himself as a crusader for what he calls “the last human right”—and he believes that helping more and more people to die advances his cause. Even if you believe in an absolute right to die on your own terms, how far is too far in the quest to secure that right?"

I say it's frightening mostly because, as I read the article, I get the sense of his fanaticism, and of his dominance, in both the organization and its ideas and acts. He wields his power like a despot, it seems...

Does the world need more of that? The arguments tend to lower humans to the level of animals, and even more, to that of objects...

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