Pope points to Mother Teresa of Calcutta as model for caring for sick and dying

(Feb. 25, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday strongly condemned the practice of direct euthanasia pointing to the example of Mother Teresa of Calcutta of how the sick and the dying should be cared for and loved. The pope’s remarks came in a message to participants in a 2-day Vatican conference that began on Monday on the theme "Accompanying the Terminally Ill and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects." “For the Christian community,” the Pope said, “the meeting between the dying and the source of life and love is a gift that is valid for all.” “No believer should die in loneliness and abandoned,” the Pope said, adding “Mother Teresa of Calcutta was greatly concerned to gather the poor and the abandoned, so that at least at the moment of death they could experience the warmth of the Father in the embrace of the sisters and brothers. This duty of accompanying the suffering and the dying with the solidarity of love, the Pope explained, should not be the concern only of the Christian community but of the entire society which through it’s health and civil institutions is called to respect the life and dignity of the terminally ill and the dying. Recalling his encyclical letter, “Spe Salvi” on the virtue of Hope, the Pope said, “A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “compassion” is a cruel and inhuman society." In today’s complex society, heavily influenced by the laws of productivity and economics, the Pope said, fragile persons and poor families risk being overwhelmed in moments of economic difficulties or illness. In large cities, he observed, old and lonely people are abandoned even in moments of grave sickness and when nearing death. In such situations, the Pontiff said, the urge for euthanasia becomes compelling, especially when one has a utilitarian vision of a person. In this regard, Pope Benedict firmly reiterated his ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, as the Church has taught through centuries.