Description
The Good Samaritan who aids an injured man (Luke 10:30-37) signifies Jesus Christ who encounters human beings in need of salvation and cares for our wounds and suffering. This letter takes inspiration from the Good Samaritan to enlighten pastors and the faithful regarding their questions and uncertainties about medical care, and their spiritual and pastoral obligations to the sick in the critical and terminal stages of life.
The document situates these questions by first considering care for one’s neighbour; the suffering Christ and the proclamation of hope; the inviolable gift of human fife; and the obstacles that obscure the value of every human life. It then expounds the Teaching of the Magisterium under twelve headings:
- The prohibition of euthanasia and assisted suicide
- The moral obligation to exclude aggressive medical treatment
- Basic Care: the requirement of nutrition and hydration
- Palliative Care
- The role of the family and hospice
- Accompaniment and care in prenatal and paediatric medicine
- Analgesic therapy and loss of consciousness
- The vegetative state and the state of minimal consciousness
- Conscientious objections on the part of healthcare workers and of Catholic healthcare institutions
- Pastoral accompaniment and the support of the sacraments
- Pastoral discernment towards those who request Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide
- The reform of the education and formation of the healthcare workers
NB This description is not to be understood as a commentary or interpretation. It is provided only as an aid to help find material on particular bioethical topics.
Read on The Vatican web site