Image – Wikimedia Commons: Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV has called on the world to “find value in human life” after France took a step towards legalising assisted suicide. He was speaking to French pilgrims at the Vatican.
Speaking to French pilgrims at the Vatican on 4 June, Pope Leo XIV appeared to call out France’s National Assembly’s vote to legalise assisted suicide.
“Our world struggles to find value in human life, even in its last hour: may the Spirit of the Lord enlighten our minds, so that we know how to defend the intrinsic dignity of every human person. God bless you”, the Roman Catholic pontiff said at a General Audience.
On 27 May, France’s National Assembly voted 305 to 199 to legalise assisted suicide for adults suffering from an incurable illness “at an advanced or terminal stage”.
France’s lower house also approved a measure to impose a two-year prison sentence and a 30,000 euro fine on persons who obstruct the choice of a person seeking assisted suicide.
The Bill will now move to the French Senate for approval.
French President Emmanuel Macron supports assisted suicide, calling it a “lesser evil”.
Catholic Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort slammed Macron’s comments. “No, Mr. President, the choice to kill and to help kill is not the lesser evil… It is simply death. This must be said without lying and without hiding behind words…
“This transgression will weigh heavily on the most vulnerable and lonely members of our society.”
Pope Leo XIV also sent a message to the Jerome Lejeune Foundation’s Third International Bioethics Conference, which took place in Rome last week. He called on delegates to “favour approaches to science that are always authentically more humane and respectful of the integrity of the person”.
Last month, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s pro-life teaching to over 100 ambassadors from different nations at the Vatican.
Addressing the Vatican Diplomatic Corps, Pope Leo XIV said: “No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly…
“It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.”
His predecessor, the late Pope Francis, was a vocal critic of assisted suicide and abortion, condemning both as part of modern “throwaway culture”.
British MPs are set to debate Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill on 13 June. A crucial vote is expected to take place on 20 June.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has called on Catholics to lobby their MPs against the Bill before it is too late:
“Even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this Bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner.”
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