The Rt. Rev. John S. Spong, Bishop of Newark, called for a task force to study the religious and ethical implications of assisted suicide during his address to the convention of the Diocese of Newark on Jan. 27.

"A century ago death would have claimed its victims long before the need for assisted suicide arose," Bishop Spong said. "But the miracle of modern technology and modern medicine has served to prolong the length of our days far beyond the time where life has either quality or meaning. Just because life can be prolonged, is it ethical to do so in all cases? Does our conviction about the sacredness of human life require biological longevity above every other value?"

The task force will report its findings to the 1996 diocesan convention, "so that this body might debate this issue and speak the mind of this diocese publicly so that that all might know where we stand on assisted suicide in this part of the body of Christ before it appears on a New Jersey ballot."

Bishop Spong also called for a task force to study the theological issues that must be addressed in the next revision of the Book of Common Prayer.

"A pre-modern theology has great difficulty speaking to a post-modern world," Bishop Spong said. "What does it mean, for example, to pray or sing the Kyrie, 'Lord, have mercy?' Do our prayers make God become merciful? Would God be other than merciful if we ceased to pray?"

The bishop asked that the task force report back to the 1997 diocesan convention so it may make a recommendation to the next General Convention, which meets later in 1997.