Pope Leo XIV says legality does not settle euthanasia’s morality

Pope Leo XIV says legality does not settle euthanasia’s morality
Pope Leo XIV used a visit to Lourdes to challenge France’s reported legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, arguing that a legal change cannot by itself resolve the moral question of ending a patient’s life. He told sick people and caregivers that “it is impossible to consider ending life normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”

The pope’s remarks, as presented in the reports, place the dispute in terms of human dignity rather than solely personal autonomy. Addressing people living with serious illness and pain, he said that no human law should make them “lose certainty in [their] dignity,” and rejected what he called the temptation to cause death under “the pretext of false compassion.”

That position contrasts with the French parliamentary decision described in the reports: lawmakers reportedly approved euthanasia and assisted suicide for patients with incurable illnesses after years of debate. The accounts say the Catholic Church opposed the measure, while Leo encouraged bishops and others who share its values to continue their advocacy.

Rather than presenting medical care as an alternative simply in principle, Leo called for stronger palliative support and urged health workers to accompany patients with tenderness. “The vocation” of healthcare, he said, is “to care for a person who suffers, not to eliminate that person.”

The visit also carried a separate message for Church leaders. Leo praised French bishops for efforts to address sexual abuse of minors but said they must “persevere” in prevention and repair, maintaining “the utmost vigilance.” A 2021 report commissioned by bishops and religious orders estimated that as many as 330,000 minors had been abused in the Church in France since 1950, according to the reports.

Together, the two themes cast dignity as both a defense of vulnerable patients and an obligation on the Church to confront harm within its own institutions.

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