The Pope and the immorality of euthanasia

“I know that for some of you, due to specific medical conditions and pain that is at times excruciating, the future may seem bleak, uncertain and without a way out. But no human law must cause you to lose the certainty of your dignity. On the contrary, it is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that the temptation to take life under the pretext of false compassion must be firmly rejected. It is impossible to regard taking life as normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.” For those who still had any doubts that the Pope did not at all approve of the end-of-life law contested by the entire French episcopate, by all pro-life organisations, by a large section of the National Assembly and by certain members of the government (as demonstrated by the appeals lodged by the staunchly Catholic Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu), these words, spoken on Sunday afternoon in Lourdes during a meeting with staff and residents of the Accueil Notre-Dame, should suffice.

It was not the first time that Leo XIV, travelling between Paris and the city of the Marian shrine, had emphasised this point. He had always done so, ever since his first, extremely harsh speech, delivered in front of a stunned Emmanuel Macron. A speech which, whilst in Italy was somewhat watered down by seeking out mostly hidden meanings, was understood perfectly well in France. So much so that Le Monde, on its front page, described it as “offensif”, offensive. Also on Sunday, in the early afternoon, he called on “the entire community of healthcare workers to remember the profound meaning of their vocation: to care for a person who is suffering, and not to eliminate them”. ‘Yes, dear friends,’ added the Pontiff, ‘be passionate servants of life! No one has the right, ever, on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the fate of a particular embryo or an elderly person! Medicine must never become the servant of planned death!’

So far, three themes have recurred in the Pope’s speeches and homilies: the faith to be spread in a context marked by secularism (“Do not keep your faith in Jesus Christ to yourselves alone, but let it overflow to quench the thirst and fulfil the needs of the people you meet. It is up to you to bring hope where discouragement and spiritual aridity reign”, he said at the Place de la Concorde), life to be promoted, and peace to be defended against the winds of war (“Grant France wise and generous leaders, ready to make sacrifices, capable of facing challenges and eager to serve the common good. May they keep the country at peace within the community of nations. May they make its voice heard in promoting the defence of fundamental human rights and peace in the world, rejecting the logic of war once and for all”, was a passage from Saturday evening’s prayer at the Grotto).

During his meeting with the bishops, the Pope urged them “to remain vigilant in order to defend the Church’s freedom and right to evangelise, to educate people in true freedom and to practise worship publicly, so that charity may be visibly practised in the name of Jesus Christ”. Referring to the earlier emphasis on the battle against euthanasia, he added: “I am aware of your determination and your courage – you have clearly demonstrated this during the recent debates on end-of-life issues – and I urge you to persevere, together with all people of good will who defend the same values”. In his homily delivered before the 200,000 pilgrims who had gathered at the Priarie, the vast green space on the other side of the Gave, Leo XIV said that “in the face of current trends seeking to redefine the value of human life in the face of illness, suffering or old age, the Grotto of Massabielle stands as a sanctuary of Christian hope. Here, no form of frailty is rejected. Your crutches, your wheelchairs, your hidden tears are not obstacles: this is the place par excellence where you are fully respected, welcomed and transfigured by God’s infinite love”. The homily took to heart the words the Virgin addressed to Bernadette Soubirous: “We find the insistent call to conversion in the words Mary spoke right here: ‘Penance! Penance! Penance!’”

On Monday, three events are scheduled in Metz: the interfaith meeting, the meeting entitled “Alle radici dell’Europa per la pace e l’unità” and Mass at 4 pm. The return to Rome will follow.