Pope Francis: Palliative care a sign of closeness to those who suffer
By Christopher Wells
鈥淗ope is what gives us strength in the face of questions raised by life's challenges, difficulties, and anxieties, Pope Francis says in a to participants in an international interfaith symposium on palliative care taking place in Toronto, Canada.
Reflecting on the theme of the gathering 鈥 鈥淭owards a Narrative of Hope鈥 鈥 Pope Francis says, 鈥淎s members of the human family and especially as believers, we are called to accompany, with love and compassion, those who struggle and have difficulty finding reasons for hope.鈥
Especially those who are suffering from sickness and approaching death, the Pope continues, 鈥渘eed the witness of hope provided by those who care for them and who remain at their side.鈥
He goes on to explain that palliative care, in attempting to lessen the burden of suffering is a 鈥渃oncrete sign of closeness and solidarity to those are suffering,鈥 and can help those facing the end of life and their families and loved ones 鈥渢o accept the vulnerability, frailty, and finitude that mark human life in this world.鈥
Euthanasia, a 鈥榝ailure of love鈥
In his message, which was read on the opening night of the Symposium by the apostolic nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Pope Francis carefully distinguishes between 鈥渁uthentic palliative care鈥 and euthanasia, 鈥渨hich is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying.鈥
Instead, he says, euthanasia 鈥渋s a failure of love, a reflection of the throwaway culture,鈥 despite being presented, falsely, as 鈥渁 form of compassion.鈥 True compassion does not involve ending someone鈥檚 life, but being willing to accompany them and share in their physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual suffering.
As such, it affirms 鈥渢he fundamental and inviolable dignity of every person, especially the dying鈥 and helps them 鈥渢o accept the inevitable moment of passage from this life to eternal life.鈥
The witness of believers
Believers especially can offer a perspective that provides a deeper understanding of 鈥渋llness, suffering, and death, seeing them as part of the mystery of divine providence [and] a means of sanctification,鈥 the Pope says.
A faith perspective can likewise help those at the end of their lives find comfort in and reconciliation with God and with others, especially family members and loved ones.
Pope Francis goes on to encourage Symposium participants, saying their service is important, 鈥渆ven essential, in helping the sick and dying to realize that they are not isolated or alone, that their lives are not a burden, and that they remain inherently valuable in the eyes of God, and united to us by bonds of communion.鈥
The Holy Father concludes his message by expressing his hope that the Symposium鈥檚 deliberations will help participants 鈥渢o persevere in love, to give hope to those at the end of life, and to further the building of a more just and fraternal society.鈥
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