After the French National Assembly definitively approved the law legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia under certain conditions, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Father Andrea Ciucci, warned of the need to act with prudence regarding an issue that affects “an entire civilization.” In an interview given to Vatican News, the priest reiterated the position expressed by the French bishops and defended that “brothers cannot take the lives of other brothers.”
Ciucci recalled that the mission of the Pontifical Academy for Life is to proclaim the Gospel of life and stated that fraternity “is at the service of life, not of death.” In this regard, he maintained that decisions of this magnitude require “all the time and all the wisdom necessary” to reach a broad social consensus.
“Everyone must be helped to live the moment of death”
Asked about the expression “right to be helped to die,” used during the legislative debate in France, the chancellor of the Academy affirmed that every person must be accompanied in the final stage of their existence, although he specified that such accompaniment should be aimed at “helping everyone to live the moment of death.”
At the same time, he emphasized that a request to die made by a sick person must be taken “very seriously” and received with respect, without failing to consider the human, medical, and social context in which it occurs.
Ciucci added that the development of technology has profoundly changed the circumstances in which people are born and die, which requires reflection on how to protect human life in this new context.
Risk of loneliness and a “throwaway culture”
During the interview, the priest pointed out that one of the main concerns of the Pontifical Academy for Life is the growing loneliness experienced by many people at the end of life.
In his view, reducing the dignity of the person to the capacity to decide individually about their own death can weaken bonds of solidarity. He also expressed concern about the situation of the most vulnerable and about social inequalities, warning of the risk that the “throwaway culture” may resurface, an expression used on numerous occasions by Pope Francis.
He also lamented that the debate on euthanasia is often reduced to ideological positions, leaving concrete attention to those who suffer in the background.
The Church proposes closeness and palliative care
As a response to the suffering of those facing the end of life, Ciucci highlighted the importance of personal accompaniment, following the example of Christ, and pointed to palliative care as one of the main responses promoted by the Church.
He also defended the need to help each person carry out responsible discernment, insisting that conscience cannot be understood as an isolated exercise, but must be accompanied by an authentic experience of fraternity.
The statements by the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life come after the French Episcopal Conference described the approval of the law as “a serious breaking point” in the country’s history and expressed concern about the ethical, social, and cultural consequences of the new legislation.