The Pope, Suffering, and Euthanasia

Excerpted from AP:

The pope's views on illness and suffering have another side to them, as he pointed out in his recent message written for Lent that included a forceful condemnation of euthanasia.


"What would happen if the people of God yielded to a certain current mentality that considers these people, our brothers and sisters, as almost useless when they are reduced in their capacities due to the difficulties of age or sickness," the pope said.

The commandment "Thou shalt not kill," he said, "applies even in the presence of illness and when physical weakness reduces the person's ability to be self-reliant."

For papal biographer George Wiegel, the pope's suffering is a reminder that "especially in the West, we live in a world in which we think the old and the suffering are disposable."

"The pope is saying there are no disposable people. That is a very important message for the whole world, not just for Christians," he told The Associated Press.