Pope Francis said on Wednesday that “death is not a right” that can be “programmed”, during the general audience this Wednesday at the Vatican in which he was against euthanasia in the midst of the debate that begins in the Italian Parliament to discuss a law on the “end of life”.
“Death is not a right, we cannot program it, nor avoid it. Every person has the right to life, to medical and palliative care, to face death in a more humane way,” the pontiff assured in his traditional weekly catechesis at the Paul VI Hall.
The Pope’s reference was given hours after this Wednesday the Italian Chamber of Deputies start discussing a bill called “end of life” which seeks to regulate assisted suicide and when a referendum is promoted to approve euthanasia.
During his catechesis, the Pope - who did not use the words euthanasia or assisted suicide - he was opposed to “causing or aiding any kind of suicide.”
“Indeed, life is a right, not death, which must be accepted and not managed. And this ethical principle concerns everyone, not just Christians or believers,” he emphasized.
In this context, the Pope asserted that “so many times it is seen that the elderly who have no means are given less medicine than they need. This is inhumane, this is not helping them, it is pushing them to death faster.”
“This is neither human nor Christian”
For Jorge Bergoglio, “the elderly must be cared for as a treasure of humanity: they are our wisdom, they are the symbol of human wisdom, they are the ones who made the path before us and left us so many memories and beautiful things,” he described.
“Please, do not isolate the elderly, do not hasten their death. Caressing an elderly person has the same hope as caressing a child: the beginning of life and the end are always a mystery that must be respected, accompanied, cared for and loved. “, he added.
AFG
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