• About
  • Contact
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Catholic Sabah
  • News
    • All
    • Asia
    • Focus
    • Local
    • Nation
    • Vatican
    • World
    An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

    An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

    Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

    Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

    Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

    Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

    ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

    ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

    KL archdiocesan staff empowered through CPR and AED training

    KL archdiocesan staff empowered through CPR and AED training

    Pope: Be inspired to imitate the new saints

    Pope: Be inspired to imitate the new saints

    Mozart’s masterpieces lift hearts in honour of Our Lady

    Mozart’s masterpieces lift hearts in honour of Our Lady

    Lay movements in Bangkok renew commitment as ‘missionaries of hope’ on World Mission Sunday

    Lay movements in Bangkok renew commitment as ‘missionaries of hope’ on World Mission Sunday

    Pope Leo to Pontifical Portuguese College: Draw ever closer to the Lord

    Pope Leo to Pontifical Portuguese College: Draw ever closer to the Lord

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Im on my Way
    • Kanou Monuhid Lahan Koposizon
    • Making A Difference
    • Mantad Di Katekis Peter
    • Reflection: Straight Talking
    Losing a loved one to suicide

    A tradition of the heart: Roman Catholic devotions

    Losing a loved one to suicide

    A father’s blessing

    ‘Never Again’ – A promise the world keeps breaking

    ‘Never Again’ – A promise the world keeps breaking

    Christians must resist the spread of fake news

    Christians must resist the spread of fake news

    Hungry Ghost Festival through Christian eyes

    Hungry Ghost Festival through Christian eyes

    Part 2: Porn – a silent addiction?

    Humanity of our priests

    Our over-complex, tortured selves

    What makes a good marriage?

    Asia reminded me that life is about more than the carnal and secular

    Asia reminded me that life is about more than the carnal and secular

  • Feature
    Pope Leo’s ‘Dilexi Te’ challenges the Church in Asia

    Pope Leo’s ‘Dilexi Te’ challenges the Church in Asia

    Profits over people: The moral crisis of our time

    Profits over people: The moral crisis of our time

    Nuns of Mother Teresa celebrate 75th anniversary of foundation

    Nuns of Mother Teresa celebrate 75th anniversary of foundation

    Pope to Pauline Sisters: Don’t let burdens deter your precious work

    Pope to Pauline Sisters: Don’t let burdens deter your precious work

    No life is beyond redemption: Renewed efforts to end death penalty in Respect Life Month

    No life is beyond redemption: Renewed efforts to end death penalty in Respect Life Month

    Inside Carmel Monastery in KK: A life apart, yet for all (Part 1)

    Inside Carmel Monastery in KK: A life apart, yet for all (Part 1)

    Indian Jesuits dump fossil fuels to mitigate climate change impacts

    Indian Jesuits dump fossil fuels to mitigate climate change impacts

    ‘Guided by God’: One woman’s journey from refugee to a life of giving

    ‘Guided by God’: One woman’s journey from refugee to a life of giving

  • Statements
    Violence and Bullying Have No Place in Malaysia CFM Demands Swift Action

    Violence and Bullying Have No Place in Malaysia CFM Demands Swift Action

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    World Day of Social Communications 2025 message by Pope Francis

    World Day of Social Communications 2025 message by Pope Francis

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Perutusan daripada Presiden Persidangan Uskup-Uskup Katolik Malaysia sempena Hari Malaysia

    Pastoral Letter on Earthquake in Myanmar and Regional Solidarity Appeal

    Chancery Notice

    Chancery Notice

    FABC Pastoral Letter to the local churches in Asia

    FABC Pastoral Letter to the local churches in Asia

    Commotion in Church: Press statement from Archbishop Simon Poh

    Commotion in Church: Press statement from Archbishop Simon Poh

  • Chinese
  • Bahasa Melayu
  • Kadazan Dusun
  • JUBILEE 2025
  • About
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Asia
    • Focus
    • Local
    • Nation
    • Vatican
    • World
    An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

    An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

    Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

    Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

    Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

    Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

    ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

    ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

    KL archdiocesan staff empowered through CPR and AED training

    KL archdiocesan staff empowered through CPR and AED training

    Pope: Be inspired to imitate the new saints

    Pope: Be inspired to imitate the new saints

    Mozart’s masterpieces lift hearts in honour of Our Lady

    Mozart’s masterpieces lift hearts in honour of Our Lady

    Lay movements in Bangkok renew commitment as ‘missionaries of hope’ on World Mission Sunday

    Lay movements in Bangkok renew commitment as ‘missionaries of hope’ on World Mission Sunday

    Pope Leo to Pontifical Portuguese College: Draw ever closer to the Lord

    Pope Leo to Pontifical Portuguese College: Draw ever closer to the Lord

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Im on my Way
    • Kanou Monuhid Lahan Koposizon
    • Making A Difference
    • Mantad Di Katekis Peter
    • Reflection: Straight Talking
    Losing a loved one to suicide

    A tradition of the heart: Roman Catholic devotions

    Losing a loved one to suicide

    A father’s blessing

    ‘Never Again’ – A promise the world keeps breaking

    ‘Never Again’ – A promise the world keeps breaking

    Christians must resist the spread of fake news

    Christians must resist the spread of fake news

    Hungry Ghost Festival through Christian eyes

    Hungry Ghost Festival through Christian eyes

    Part 2: Porn – a silent addiction?

    Humanity of our priests

    Our over-complex, tortured selves

    What makes a good marriage?

    Asia reminded me that life is about more than the carnal and secular

    Asia reminded me that life is about more than the carnal and secular

  • Feature
    Pope Leo’s ‘Dilexi Te’ challenges the Church in Asia

    Pope Leo’s ‘Dilexi Te’ challenges the Church in Asia

    Profits over people: The moral crisis of our time

    Profits over people: The moral crisis of our time

    Nuns of Mother Teresa celebrate 75th anniversary of foundation

    Nuns of Mother Teresa celebrate 75th anniversary of foundation

    Pope to Pauline Sisters: Don’t let burdens deter your precious work

    Pope to Pauline Sisters: Don’t let burdens deter your precious work

    No life is beyond redemption: Renewed efforts to end death penalty in Respect Life Month

    No life is beyond redemption: Renewed efforts to end death penalty in Respect Life Month

    Inside Carmel Monastery in KK: A life apart, yet for all (Part 1)

    Inside Carmel Monastery in KK: A life apart, yet for all (Part 1)

    Indian Jesuits dump fossil fuels to mitigate climate change impacts

    Indian Jesuits dump fossil fuels to mitigate climate change impacts

    ‘Guided by God’: One woman’s journey from refugee to a life of giving

    ‘Guided by God’: One woman’s journey from refugee to a life of giving

  • Statements
    Violence and Bullying Have No Place in Malaysia CFM Demands Swift Action

    Violence and Bullying Have No Place in Malaysia CFM Demands Swift Action

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    World Day of Social Communications 2025 message by Pope Francis

    World Day of Social Communications 2025 message by Pope Francis

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Banns of Sacerdotal Ordination

    Perutusan daripada Presiden Persidangan Uskup-Uskup Katolik Malaysia sempena Hari Malaysia

    Pastoral Letter on Earthquake in Myanmar and Regional Solidarity Appeal

    Chancery Notice

    Chancery Notice

    FABC Pastoral Letter to the local churches in Asia

    FABC Pastoral Letter to the local churches in Asia

    Commotion in Church: Press statement from Archbishop Simon Poh

    Commotion in Church: Press statement from Archbishop Simon Poh

  • Chinese
  • Bahasa Melayu
  • Kadazan Dusun
  • JUBILEE 2025
  • About
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Catholic Sabah
No Result
View All Result
Home News Vatican

“Euthanasia is a crime against human life, incurable does not mean end of care”

September 23, 2020
in Vatican
“Euthanasia is a crime against human life, incurable does not mean end of care”

Incurable does not mean un-care-able 

By Vatican News

Sep 23 2020

“Samaritanus bonus” (The Good Samaritan), a newly published letter by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by the Pope, reiterates the condemnation of any form of euthanasia and assisted suicide, and advocates support for families and healthcare workers.

On Tuesday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced the publication of a Letter approved by Pope Francis on 25 June and entitled Samaritanus bonus (“The Good Samaritan”): On the Care of Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life”. It bears 14 July as its publication date, in honor of St Camillus de Lellis, the patron saint of the sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians.

“Incurable cannot mean that care has come at an end” – those who are terminally ill have the right to be welcomed, cured, loved. This is affirmed in Part One of Samaritanus bonus. The Letter aims to provide concrete ways to put into practice the parable of the Good Samaritan, who teaches us that “even when a cure is unlikely or impossible”, medical care, nursing care, psychological and spiritual care “should never be forsaken”.

Incurable, never un-care-able

“To cure if possible, always to care”. These words of Pope Saint John Paul II explain that incurable is never synonymous with un-care-able. To provide care until the very end; to “be with” the sick person; to accompany, listen to, make him or her feel loved: this is how loneliness and isolation, the fear of suffering and death can be avoided. The entire document is focused on the meaning of pain and suffering in the light of the Gospel and of Jesus’s sacrifice.

Inalienable dignity of life

“The uninfringeable value of life is a fundamental principle of the natural moral law and an essential foundation of the legal order”, the Letter states. “We cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it”. Citing Gaudium et spes, the document reiterates that “abortion, euthanasia and wilful self-destruction poison human society” and “are a supreme dishonor to the Creator” (no. 27).

Obstacles that obscure the sacred value of human life

The document cites several factors that limit the ability of apprehending the value of life, such as when life is considered “worthwhile” only if certain psychic and physical conditions are present. One of these obstacles the Letter notes is a false understanding of “compassion”. True compassion, it explains, “consists not in causing death”, but in affectionately welcoming and supporting the person who is sick, and providing the means to alleviate his or her suffering. Another obstacle it lists is a growing individualism that provokes loneliness.

The teaching of the Magisterium

It is a definitive teaching that euthanasia represents “a crime against human life”, and, therefore, is “intrinsically evil” in every circumstance. Any “formal or immediate material cooperation” constitutes a grave sin against human life that no authority can “legitimately recommend or permit”. Those who approve laws in favor of euthanasia “become accomplices” and are “guilty of scandal” because these laws contribute to the malformation of consciences. The act of euthanasia must always be rejected. However, the Letter acknowledges that the desperation or anguish of the person requesting it might diminish or even make “non-existent” his or her personal responsibility.

No to aggressive treatments

The document also explains that protecting the dignity of death means excluding aggressive medical treatments. Therefore, when death is imminent and inevitable, “it is lawful…to renounce treatments that provide only a precarious or painful extension of life”, without, however, interrupting necessary ordinary treatments the patient requires, such as food and hydration “as long as the body can benefit from them”. Palliative care is a “precious and crucial instrument” with which to accompany the patient. Palliative care must never include the possibility of euthanasia, the Letter emphasizes, but should include the spiritual assistance of both the person who is sick and the members of their families.

Support for families

It is important in caring for a sick person that he or she is not made to feel like a burden, but that they “sense the intimacy and support of their loved ones. The family needs help and adequate resources to fulfil this mission”. State governments need to “recognize the family’s primary, fundamental and irreplaceable social function (…) should undertake to provide the necessary resources and structures to support it.”

Care in the prenatal and pediatric stages

From the moment of conception, children affected by malformation or other chronic illnesses are to be accompanied in a “manner respectful of life”. In cases of “prenatal pathologies…that will surely end in death within a short period of time”, and when no treatment exists to improve the child’s condition, the child “should not be left without assistance, but must be accompanied like any other patient until they reach natural death”, without suspending food and hydration. The Letter states that “recourse to prenatal diagnosis” is “obsessive” in today’s society and notes that it sometimes results in the choice for abortion or other “selective purposes”. Both abortion and the use “prenatal diagnosis for selective purposes” are “unlawful”, the Letter asserts.

Deep sedation

To alleviate pain, medication is used that may “induce the loss of consciousness”. The Letter affirms that it is morally licit to sedate “to ensure that the end of life arrives with the greatest possible peace and in the best internal conditions”. This also applies to types of sedation that hasten “the moment of death (deep palliative sedation in the terminal stage)”. But it is not acceptable that sedation be administered that “directly and intentionally causes death”, something the Letter defines as a “euthanistic practice”.

The vegetative state

Even in the case when the patient is not conscious, he or she “must be acknowledged in their intrinsic value and assisted with suitable care”, which includes the right to food and hydration. There may, however, be cases in which “such measures can become disproportionate” because they are no longer effective or because the means of administering them “create an excessive burden”. In this case, the Letter states that “adequate support must be provided to the families who bear the burden of long-term care for persons in these states”.

Conscientious objection

The Letter requests that locals Churches and Catholic institutions and communities “adopt a clear and unified position to safeguard the right of conscientious objection” in contexts where morally grave practices are allowed by law. It also invites Catholic institutions and healthcare personnel to witness to the values the Church professes regarding life issues.

Specifically in the case of euthanasia, the document states that “there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection”. It is important that doctors and healthcare workers be formed in accompanying the dying in a Christian way. The spiritual accompaniment of a person who chooses to be euthanized requires that of “an invitation to conversion”, and never any gesture “that could be interpreted as approval”, such as remaining present while the euthanasia is being performed.

John Paul II, Address to the Participants in the International Congress on “Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas”.

Previous Post

St Simon Likas welcomes back 45 Sunday School students

Next Post

Taking care of the sick, learning what it means to love

Related Posts

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms
News

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

October 22, 2025
Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks
Asia

Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

October 22, 2025
Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis
News

Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

October 22, 2025
Next Post
Taking care of the sick, learning what it means to love

Taking care of the sick, learning what it means to love

Recent News

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

October 22, 2025
Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

October 22, 2025
Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

October 22, 2025
ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

October 22, 2025
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Minor reshuffle and new appointment of priests

Minor reshuffle and new appointment of priests

July 15, 2024
Enggan punya anak, antara sebab perpisahan suami-isteri

Enggan punya anak, antara sebab perpisahan suami-isteri

May 20, 2025
Minor transfer of priests

Minor transfer of priests

November 11, 2023
Tender Notice St Catherine of Laboure Church, Putatan

Tender Notice St Catherine of Laboure Church, Putatan

April 29, 2025
The Church wants to be more the ‘inn’ of the Good Samaritan for the sick

The Church wants to be more the ‘inn’ of the Good Samaritan for the sick

Parishioners are invited to help form prophetic and servant priests

Parishioners are invited to help form prophetic and servant priests

Archdiocesan Notice on SSPX

Archdiocesan Notice on SSPX

April 28 2020

April 28 2020

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

October 22, 2025
Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

October 22, 2025
Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

October 22, 2025
ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

October 22, 2025
Catholic Sabah

Catholic Sabah is a media organization based in Sabah Malaysia. We bring you the latest Catholic news right to your doorstep!

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Asia
  • Bahasa Melayu
  • Borneo: Ordinary Person, Extraordinary Faith
  • Chinese
  • Feature
  • Focus
  • Im on my Way
  • JUBILEE 2025
  • Kadazan Dusun
  • Kanou Monuhid Lahan Koposizon
  • Local
  • Making A Difference
  • Mantad Di Katekis Peter
  • Nation
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Readings
  • Reflection: Straight Talking
  • Statements
  • Vatican
  • World

Recent Additions

An advocate in a veil: Catholic sister defending justice in Kenyan courtrooms

Sri Lankan Church renews call for Special Prosecutor for Easter Sunday attacks

Arms trafficking escalating amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis

ArchKL volunteers join nationwide ‘Hari Cuci Malaysia’ cleanup

KL archdiocesan staff empowered through CPR and AED training

Oct 22 2025

  • About
  • Contact

© 2024 Catholic Sabah - Powered by KK Top Web.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Feature
  • Statements
  • Chinese
  • Bahasa Melayu
  • Kadazan Dusun
  • JUBILEE 2025
  • About
  • Donate

© 2024 Catholic Sabah - Powered by KK Top Web.