The Vatican says that those who choose euthanasia cannot receive the sacraments

As several countries across Europe move towards expanding access to euthanasia, the Vatican has released a new document reaffirming its teaching on medically assisted dying, insisting that it is 'poisonous' to society and stressed that those who choose it are unable to access the sacraments unless they overrule their decision.

"Just as we cannot make another person our slave, even if they ask to be, so we cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it," the Vatican said in a new document published by its Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Published on 22 September, the document, entitled "Samaritanus bonus: on the care of people in the critical and terminal phases of life", was signed by the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, and his secretary, Archbishop Giacomo Morandi.

Putting an end to the life of a patient who asks for euthanasia, the document reads, "does not at all mean recognizing and respecting their autonomy", but rather denying "both their freedom, now under the influence of suffering and disease, both of their life excluding any further possibility of human relationship, of intuiting the meaning of their existence. "

"Furthermore, it is taking God's place in deciding the moment of death," he said, adding that it is for this reason that "abortion, euthanasia and voluntary self-destruction (...) poison human society" and " they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the wound.

In December 2019, the Vatican's senior official on life issues, Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, caused a stir when he said he would hold the hand of someone dying of assisted suicide.

The new Vatican text stressed that those who assist people who choose euthanasia on a spiritual basis "should avoid any gesture, such as staying until euthanasia is performed, which could be interpreted as approval of this action".

"Such a presence could imply complicity in this act," he said, adding that this is particularly applicable, but not limited, "to chaplains in health systems where euthanasia is practiced, because they must not cause scandal by behaving in a manner which makes them accomplices in the end of human life. "

Regarding the hearing of a person's confession, the Vatican insisted that in order to grant absolution, a confessor must have the guarantee that the person has the "true contrition" required for absolution to be valid, consisting of "Pain of the mind and a hatred for the sin committed, with the aim of not sinning for the future".

When it comes to euthanasia, "we are faced with a person who, whatever his subjective dispositions, has decided on a grossly immoral act and voluntarily persists in this decision," the Vatican said, insisting that in these cases, the state of the person “involves a manifest absence of the right disposition for the reception of the sacraments of penance, with absolution and anointing, with viaticum”.

"Such a penitent can receive these sacraments only when the minister discerns his willingness to take concrete steps that indicate that he has changed his decision in this regard," the Vatican said.

However, the Vatican stressed that "postponing" the acquittal in these cases does not imply a judgment, since the person's personal responsibility in the matter "could be reduced or non-existent", depending on the severity of his illness.

A priest could, they said, administer the sacraments to a person who is unconscious, provided he has received "a signal given in advance by the patient, he can presume his repentance."

"The Church's position here does not imply a non-acceptance of the sick," the Vatican said, insisting that those accompanying him must have "the willingness to listen and help, along with a deeper explanation of the nature of the sacrament, in order to offer the opportunity to desire and choose the sacrament until the last moment “.

The Vatican letter came out as numerous countries across Europe are considering expanding access to euthanasia and assisted suicide.

On Saturday Pope Francis met with the leaders of the Spanish Bishops' Conference to express concern about a new bill to legalize euthanasia presented to the Spanish Senate.

If the bill were to pass, Spain would become the fourth European country to legalize physician-assisted suicide after Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In Italy, in the courtyard of Pope Francis' home, euthanasia has not yet been legalized, but the country's supreme court last year ruled that in cases of "intolerable physical and psychological suffering" it should not be considered illegal.

The Vatican stressed that every health worker is called upon not only to carry out his own technical duties, but to help every patient to develop "a profound awareness of his own existence", even in cases where a cure is unlikely or impossible.

“Every individual who takes care of the sick (doctor, nurse, relative, volunteer, parish priest) has the moral responsibility to learn the fundamental and inalienable good that is the human person”, says the text. "They should adhere to the highest standards of self-respect and respect for others by embracing, safeguarding and promoting human life until natural death."

The treatment, underlines the document, never ends, even when the treatment is no longer justified.

On this basis, the document issues a firm "no" to euthanasia and assisted suicide.

"Putting an end to the life of a patient who asks for euthanasia does not at all mean recognizing and respecting his autonomy, but on the contrary disavowing the value both of his freedom, now under the influence of suffering and illness, and of his life as a excluding any further possibility of human relationship, of intuiting the meaning of their existence, or of growth in theological life ".

"It serves to take the place of God in deciding the moment of death," the document says.

Euthnasia is equivalent to "a crime against human life because, in this act, one directly chooses to cause the death of another innocent human being ... Euthanasia, therefore, is an intrinsically evil act, in any situation or circumstance" , calling that teaching “definitive. "

The Congregation also underlines the importance of "accompaniment", understood as personal pastoral care for the sick and the dying.

"Every sick person needs not only to be listened to, but to understand that their interlocutor 'knows' what it means to feel alone, neglected and tormented by the perspective of physical pain", reads the document. "Add to this the suffering caused when society equates their value as people with their quality of life and makes them feel like a burden to others."

"Although essential and invaluable, palliative care in itself is not sufficient unless there is someone who 'stays' at the bedside to testify to their unique and unrepeatable value ... In intensive care units or in treatment centers of chronic diseases, one can be present simply as an official, or as someone who "stays" with the sick.

The document also warns of a decrease in respect for human life in society in general.

“According to this view, a life whose quality seems poor does not deserve to continue. Human life is therefore no longer recognized as a value in itself, ”he said. The document denounces a false sense of compassion behind the growing press in favor of euthanasia, as well as spreading individualism.

Life, the document reads, “is increasingly valued on the basis of its efficiency and usefulness, to the point of considering as“ discarded lives ”or“ unworthy lives ”those who do not meet this criterion.

In this situation of loss of authentic values, the imperative obligations of solidarity and human and Christian brotherhood also fail. In reality, a society deserves the status of "civil" if it develops antibodies against the culture of waste; if it recognizes the intangible value of human life; if solidarity is actually practiced and safeguarded as a foundation for coexistence, ”he said