The bishops of France have asked the directors of Catholic-inspired healthcare centers to update “urgently” their statutes and internal regulations so they can refuse to perform euthanasia and assisted suicide in their facilities. They do so in a letter titled “We want to support and encourage you”, published on 8 November at the close of the French Episcopal Conference’s plenary assembly in Lourdes and addressed to the directors and staff of those establishments.
The text maintains that the “aid in dying” law, passed by the National Assembly on 15 July, represents a “serious break” with a long tradition of care. The bishops expect it to come into force probably in January 2027, when the implementing decrees are published. Hence their insistence that Catholic centers not wait until that date to put their legal situation in order.
The Constitutional Council’s reservation, basis for the refusal
The letter recalls that the Constitutional Council declared the law constitutional on 14 August, albeit with three interpretative reservations. One of them, based on freedom of association, allows establishments not to apply aid in dying within their facilities when doing so would contradict their statutes or institutional project. To avail themselves of this exception, the bishops consider it essential that each center’s legal framework expressly include it: “It is therefore urgent that their legal and administrative arrangements be updated,” they write.
The prelates also cite Belgium’s experience, where the 2002 law provided for a form of “establishment clause” that was abolished in 2020, partly, they note, because of the poor way it was managed. That is why they call for the matter to be handled with rigor and competence.
Accompanying the patient and avoiding unlawful conduct
The bishops urge the centers to refrain from conduct that is clearly unlawful from a moral standpoint and to maintain the charism that guides them, “accompanying and respecting life to the end.” To that end, they encourage continuing to care for patients in the final stage, combating pain and looking after families, and relying on the law on the development of palliative care, passed at the end of May by an almost unanimous vote.
The letter also draws on the words of Leo XIV during his trip to France. The Pope warned at the Élysée against scientific and technical excesses, including “planned death,” as InfoVaticana reported, and in Lourdes he spoke of watching over the suffering person rather than eliminating them.
A doctrinal document for 2027
The Episcopal Conference announces that it will publish in 2027 a doctrinal and pastoral document addressed to administrators, healthcare personnel, chaplains and pastoral agents. In the meantime, it undertakes to respond to any queries it receives, while warning that it cannot “replace the discernment of conscience” of each individual and that some questions will depend on the implementing decrees that are still pending.