Cardinal rips suicide ballot effort

This month, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference the public policy arm of the church in the Bay State, issued a statement denouncing the petition.

“The Roman Catholic bishops in Massachusetts are strongly opposed to the legalization of assisted suicide because it is contrary to the good of persons and contrary to the common good of this state,’’ the Sept. 7 statement said.

The so-called Death With Dignity ballot question would make it legal for terminally ill Massachusetts residents to take a lethal dose of prescription drugs to end their lives. Attorney General Martha Coakley recently certified the language of the ballot question.

Proponents must collect 70,000 signatures of registered Bay State voters before the petition can be presented for action on Beacon Hill, where lawmakers could either adopt it as a law or let voters decide in the November 2012 general election.

O’Malley did not identify Dignity 2012 by name, but urged Bay State voters to carefully consider the language of the ballot question.

“We hope the citizens of the Commonwealth will not be seduced by language [such as ] dignity and compassion, which are means to disguise the sheer brutality of helping people to kill themselves,’’ O’Malley said.

A spokesman for Dignity 2012, which was not represented at the Mass, declined to criticize O’Malley or the church’s position.

“We certainly respect the cardinal’s opinion and believe that the people of Massachusetts are ready for the discussion, about how best to provide peace, dignity, and control for terminally ill patients in their final days of life,’’ Steve Crawford said yesterday afternoon by phone.

He said the proposal is meant to provide terminally ill people with a choice about how they die.