In what’s believed to be a first in Canada, the Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories have issued guidelines that say priests should refuse funerals for some who died with a doctor’s assistance.

The document calls medical-assisted dying a ”grave sin” that goes against the teachings of the Catholic church.

These guidelines feel priests should weigh the circumstances of each funeral request but that those for high-profile assisted deaths should be refused and families who want to celebrate such a death should be denied funerals in church.

The Edmonton archbishop says the guidelines do not rule out funerals for everyone and that priests can come up with other options, such as a graveside service or at a funeral home.