British Church to shut down Bioethics office

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The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, a cornerstone of Catholic bioethical research in the United Kingdom, will cease operations by the end of the month.

Newsroom (03 July 2025, Gaudium Press )The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, a cornerstone of Catholic bioethical research in the United Kingdom, will cease operations by the end of the month, the Catholic Trust of England and Wales announced Wednesday. Established in 1977, the Centre is the oldest institution of its kind in the UK and has been hailed as a global leader in Christian bioethics.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia, described the Centre as “not just the premier Christian bioethics institute in Britain, but one of the finest in the world, Christian or secular.” Its closure marks a significant loss for the Catholic Church’s engagement with pressing ethical issues, including assisted suicide, artificial intelligence, and the dignity of human life.

Professor David Albert Jones, the Centre’s director, expressed “immense sadness” at the decision. “It is the earnest hope of staff at the Centre that some means may be found to continue to make available the resources that the Centre has generated, and also to continue the vital work of bioethical research and education that fully respects the dignity of the human person,” Jones said in a statement.

The Centre has been particularly active in opposing legislative efforts in Scotland and England and Wales to decriminalize “encouraging and assisting suicide” for those deemed terminally ill. Jones noted that the Centre’s work has been cited in Parliament and has informed public and policymaker discussions on the issue. “Despite the efforts of many people of good will, assisted suicide Bills continue to make progress both in Scotland and in England and Wales, albeit by narrow majorities,” he said. He urged the public to utilize the Centre’s existing resources and to engage with the Scottish Parliament and the House of Lords as they debate “dangerous and ill-thought-out legislation.”

An individual closely associated with the Centre, speaking anonymously to Crux, lamented the closure’s impact. “The Centre has been very active, particularly in the fight against assisted suicide. Not having the Centre anymore means the Church loses an important source of advocacy that is rooted in scholarship but able to speak to the wider public and to policymakers,” the former official said. The decision, they added, “puts into jeopardy ongoing projects and collaborations.”

The closure comes at a time when bioethical issues are at the forefront of global discourse. On May 16, Pope Leo XIV, in an address to diplomats, emphasized the Church’s commitment to “striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.” He also highlighted the ethical challenges posed by rapid advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence.

With the shuttering of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, the Catholic Church in Britain loses a vital voice in these debates, raising concerns about its ability to influence public policy and ethical discourse in an increasingly complex moral landscape.

  • Raju Hasmukh with files from Crux Now

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