The stance is outlined in a new document published by the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV).

The text, titled "Small Lexicon on End of Life", indicates a slight departure from the Church's previous position.

However, it still reaffirms its opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide.

This new publication reflects the Vatican's evolving perspective on "aggressive treatment" in end-of-life care, particularly concerning the moral obligation to provide artificial nutrition and hydration.

The text acknowledges the complexity of determining when food and hydration, typically administered through medical technology, may no longer be considered obligatory.

In the 88-page document, the PAV reiterates the need to avoid "disproportionate interventions".

It highlights the importance of considering the overall well-being of the patient rather than focusing solely on sustaining biological functions.

According to an introduction by Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia (pictured), president of the PAV, the volume has the aim of "reducing at least that component of disagreement that depends on an imprecise use of the notions implied in speech".

Moral duty to provide food and water

The document refers to past Vatican teachings including the 2020 letter Samaritanus Bonus and the 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita. These teachings highlight the importance of avoiding aggressive treatments that may not truly help the patient.

The volume noted that the food and hydration prepared for vegetative patients are prepared in a laboratory and administered through technology, and thus do not amount to "simple care procedures."

The new lexicon also quotes Pope Francis, who in 2017 cautioned against insisting on treatments that merely sustain life without improving the overall health of the patient.

The PAV document clarifies that this nuanced position does not contradict the DDF's 2007 guidelines which emphasised the moral duty to provide food and water, even artificially, to patients in a vegetative state.

By allowing the space to be kept open for research on legislative mediation on the topic, Paglia in his introduction said "in this way, believers assume their responsibility to explain to everyone the universal (ethical) sense disclosed in the Christian faith".

Sources

Crux Now

Vatican News

CathNews New Zealand

Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria (pictured), the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, presented differing interpretations during the May 19-20 conference.

The conference, organised by the Jérôme Lejeune International Chair of Bioethics, brought together researchers from Catholic universities.

Cardinal Ladaria defended the encyclical's "prophetic vision" in his address.

"The truth expressed in Humanae Vitae does not change," said the 79-year-old cardinal. "There are too many voices, amplified by modern propaganda media, that contrast with that of the Church."

Ladaria stated that the encyclical remains relevant and addresses the opposing perspectives that view the body as a tool for manipulation. He criticised moral relativism, contraceptive anthropology and transhumanism, arguing that these ideologies diminish the body to a mere object that can be easily controlled.

In contrast, Archbishop Paglia presented a different interpretation of Humanae Vitae in an interview published by Vatican Media.

"The recognition of the unbreakable connection between married love and generation in Humanae Vitae does not mean that every marital act must necessarily bear fruit," explained the 78-year-old Italian archbishop.

"St Paul VI recognises that procreation must be 'responsible' and - as is well known - points to natural methods as the way to exercise this responsibility," he continued.

While Cardinal Ladaria presented the encyclical as an unchanged text, Archbishop Paglia sketched a very different vision.

"I believe continued reflection on the subject is very important, as are wide-ranging discussions. Indeed Pope Francis, speaking about contraception, has said that 'the duty of theologians is research, theological reflection'," the archbishop said.

"We are facing epochal challenges. In the Sixties, the 'pill' was considered a total evil," he continued.

"Today, we face even greater dangers. All human life is at risk if we don't stop a spiralling conflict, the arms race, if we don't stop destroying the environment," Paglia argued.

The clash between Cardinal Ladaria and Archbishop Paglia emerged amidst ongoing debates within the Pontifical Academy for Life. The confrontations shed light on differing perspectives within the Vatican on matters of sexual morality and bioethics.

Sources

La Croix International

CathNews New Zealand

Speaking last week at the Perugia Journalism Festival on "The last journey (towards the end of life)," Paglia stated that the Catholic Church did not provide a fixed moral code, but that its teachings were the result of ongoing dialogue and theological thought.

Archbishop Paglia said the Catholic Church "does not have a package of prêt-à-porter, a pre-packaged truth as if it were a distributor of truth pills."

Instead, its teaching results from the idea that "Theological thought evolves throughout history in dialogue with the Magisterium and with the experience of the people of God in a dynamic of mutual enrichment."

The archbishop also highlighted the Church's current focus on achieving an ethical and legal framework for end-of-life decisions.

Paglia argued that a legal mediation for assisted suicide in specific circumstances, as mandated by the Italian Constitutional Court in 2019, was feasible and could be the "greatest common good concretely possible in the conditions in which we find ourselves," while insisting that he would not practise assisted suicide personally.

Paglia's comments generated significant criticism from some who believed that he appeared to support end-of-life legislation and that he was advocating for legal protection for euthanasia. Some also raised concerns about his comparison of the death penalty and euthanasia.

Paglia opposed to euthanasia

In response, the Pontifical Academy for Life released a statement on Monday, affirming that Paglia remained opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide and was in line with the Church's teachings.

The statement argued that Paglia's presentation had touched only briefly on the Constitutional Court's ruling and that the context of his remarks had not been fully developed.

Italy's current law dictates that anyone who assists another person in committing suicide may be jailed for between five and twelve years.

A 2019 ruling by Italy's Constitutional Court partially decriminalised assisted suicide under certain conditions, including that the person be "kept alive by life support treatments and affected by an irreversible pathology, which is a source of physical or psychological suffering they consider intolerable, but fully capable of making free and informed decisions."

The ruling also mandated that parliament pass legislation regulating assisted suicide. However, Italian lawmakers have yet to pass the required legislation, and the issue has become a source of ongoing debate and division.

Sources

CruxNow

CathNews New Zealand

The Pontifical Academy for Life, assisted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, issued "Old Age: Our Future. The elderly after the pandemic" on February 9.

It was signed by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and Father Renzo Pegoraro, respectively the president and chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The text is not only concerned about the fate of the elderly after the pandemic. It also warns that older folks are often being left to fend for themselves as the health emergency rages.

"We are all in the same storm, but it is increasingly evident that we are on different boats, and that the least seaworthy boats are sinking every day," the note adds by way of analogy.

"Discarding the old - even with expressions - is a serious problem for everyone," the Vatican document warns.

The Vatican text reflects on the importance of the elderly's place in society. It insists that older people cannot be reduced to how productive or useful they are.

"The elderly remind us of the radical weakness of every human being, even when they are healthy, they remind us of the need to be loved and supported. In old age, losing all self-sufficiency, we beg for help," the note says.

Pope Francis has repeatedly urged young people to stay close to their grandparents, the document notes.

It added that "the aging man is not approaching the end, but the mystery of eternity; to understand it he needs to get close to God and to live in relationship with Him. Taking care of the spirituality of the elderly, of their need for intimacy with Christ and sharing of faith is a task of charity in the Church."

Pope Francis' recently designated the fourth Sunday of July as World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly.

Sources

La Croix International

Vatican News

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia says he would offer this comfort because "no one is abandoned" by the Church.

Paglia, who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, explained his views during the presentation of an upcoming symposium on end-of-life issues the Academy is co-sponsoring.

The symposium on "Religion and Medical Ethics: Palliative care and the mental health of the elderly", is being co-organized by the British Journal of Medicine and Qatar's WISH foundation.

He was responding to a question about one bishops' conference's directive that a priest should not be in the room if euthanasia or assisted suicide is performed.

"I believe that from our perspective, no one is abandoned, even if we are against assisted suicide, because we don't want to do death's dirty job," he said.

"To accompany, to hold the hand of someone who is dying, is something that every faithful must promote as they must promote a culture that opposes assisted suicide."

Regardless of a willingness to accompany a person through such a decision, Catholics should continue to fight against a "selfish" society that labels the elderly, the terminally ill and others as "not good enough" and a surplus to the world, he said.

Pointing out that suicide - in whatever form - is a "defeat" for the rest of society, Paglia said: "We can never transform it into a wise decision".

He also said he always celebrates the funerals for those who take their own lives.

In his opinion, suicide is "a great request for love that was not satisfied. This is why the Lord never abandons anyone."

Paglia told reporters that even though they were looking "for a rule," the principle of never abandoning anyone is not a matter of law for him.

"In this selfish society, we don't need new laws. We need a love supplement, a co-responsibility supplement".

"We are all necessary, with no one to spare. A society that runs towards a perspective of justifying suicide or leaving behind those who are not ‘good enough' is a cruel one".

"For me, a person who takes their own life shows a failure of society as a whole".

"But it is not a failure from God. We are each children of God. Can a mother abandon her son?"

There's no certainty that even the apostle Judas, who betrayed Jesus before killing himself, is in Hell, he said.

"For a Catholic to say so, it's heresy."

Source

• Crux
• Image: Crux Now