The Bishop of Ventimiglia-Sanremo: a dangerous picklock for many others yes; life is an unavailable asset and cannot be managed at will by the individual or by society
VATICAN CITY. Giving the green light to assisted suicide invoked by “Mario”, a quadriplegic patient immobilized in bed for ten years, “is wrong and inhumane”. Although it was a decision made in the face of “terrible suffering”, it is now a forerunner to other “dangerous” bioethical validations, such as euthanasia. Monsignor Antonio Suetta, bishop of Ventimiglia-Sanremo, does not mince words. For the Ligurian prelate, point of reference for conservative Catholics, the way forward in these cases is palliative care; “Then human comfort and, for those who want, faith, up to natural death”.
Excellency, what do you think of the Ethics Committee’s “yes” to the first medically assisted suicide in Italy?
“It is wrong, even if cloaked in human pity. I consider it inhumane in itself and also a dangerous picklock for many other “yeses” who will arrive in the same direction ».
Don’t you think that in the face of disabling and irreversible conditions, intolerable pathologies or sufferings, it is more right to at least take a step backwards?
«I believe that in the face of atrocious physical sufferings, for which I feel profound tenderness and compassion, the step to be taken is that of closeness and care. Not always medicine and therapy can solve the problem, but thanks to God and thanks to the progress of science today we are able to control pain, and therefore the patient who is also in an irreversible situation can be relieved of suffering – the cures palliatives are an enormous resource – and humanly accompanied to the point of natural death with the consolation of authentic human closeness and, for those who welcome it, by the comfort of faith “.
We are in a secular country where many citizens think it is right to give a person in certain very serious health conditions the opportunity to take their own life. Why is the Church opposed?
“The Church believes that life is an unavailable asset and that therefore it cannot be managed at will either by the individual or by civil society. The secular state is not a justification and does not represent the possibility of going beyond the limits imposed by the sacredness of human life and its inviolability “.
I’ll tell you another way: believers may not follow legislation that allows assisted suicide, while those who think differently yes: isn’t that right?
«It is obvious that everyone acts and lives on the basis of their own moral and religious convictions, and therefore believers will know how to make correct choices with respect to the commandments of God and the doctrine of the Church. However, it must be added that believers are also citizens of the State and therefore have the right and duty to freely express their opinion and to promote the human values they deem indispensable for the common good and for a just civil coexistence “.
Is life sacred, and individual freedom is it?
«Certainly, the freedom of the individual is a sacred prerogative like life and is based on the protection of life itself. Any denial of what constitutes a foundation also represents a serious injury to what rests upon it. Therefore affirming the freedom to give or take life remains abusive to that same freedom. Freedom has an insurmountable criterion: the truth of things “.
Broadening the speech, why does the Church fear euthanasia?
“The Church has no fear, but she has the duty and also the joy of proclaiming the Gospel of life, not giving in to the lure of an arbitrary management of human existence, reducing it to a mere biological event to be managed technically”.
What do you think of the referendum for the legalization of euthanasia?
“Political activity and, more generally, social participation in major ethical issues such as this one cannot simply refer to the counting of preferences, but rather must feel engaged in a passionate and tiring search for the truth and values that are at the basis of human life and civil coexistence “.
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