Pope says euthanasia not a civilized choice, but the result viewing life as a 'product'

In his audience with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Francis reiterated the Church's no to the voluntary interruption of human existence, the fruit of the absolutization of the concepts of self-determination and autonomy. The need for respect for ethics also in the economic field.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis' new no to euthanasia, which is not the result of "civilization", but of secularization and an assessment of life based on efficiency and productivity, came during  an audience with participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Looking back over the themes discussed in the assembly, Francis also indicated "the accompaniment of terminally ill patients. In this regard - he added - the process of secularization, absolutizing the concepts of self-determination and autonomy, has led to a growth in demand in many countries for euthanasia, seen as an ideological affirmation of man's will to have power over life. This has also led to considering the voluntary interruption of human existence as a choice of 'civilization'. It is clear that where life is valued not for its dignity, but for its efficiency and productivity, all this becomes possible. In this scenario it must be reiterated that human life, from conception to its natural end, has a dignity that makes it intangible".

"Pain, suffering, the meaning of life and death are realities that contemporary mentality struggles to face in a vision of hope. And yet, without a trusting in hope that helps us deal with pain and death, we cannot live well and maintain a confident perspective towards the future. This is one of the services that the Church is called to make to contemporary man".

The need for respect for ethics in the economic field was another of the topics examined in the assembly and mentioned by the Pope. "We cannot forget the studies that you are being carried out into the ethical implications of an adequate anthropology also in the economic-financial field. Only a vision of man as a person, that is to say, as an essentially relational subject and connoted by a peculiar and broad rationality, is able to act in conformity with the objective order of morality. In this regard, the Magisterium of the Church has always clearly stated that "economic activity must be conducted according to the laws and methods proper to the economy, but within the moral order" (CONC., ECUM, VAT. , Cost. Past. Gaudium et Spes, 64)".

Finally, Francis expressed his appreciation for the study “of some aspects of Christian salvation, in order to reaffirm the meaning of redemption, in reference to today's neo-Pelagian and neo-gnostic tendencies. These tendencies are expressions of an individualism that relies on its own forces to save itself. We, on the other hand, believe that salvation consists in communion with the Risen Christ who, thanks to the gift of his Spirit, has introduced us into a new order of relations with the Father and among men. Thus we can unite ourselves with the Father as children in the Son and become one body in Him who is "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom 8,29) ".