'The right-to-die movement is a sin against God and creation,' says Pope Francis
Pope Francis addressed about 4,000 Italian Catholic doctors in Vatican City
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pope Francis spoke out against assisted suicide as a "false sense of compassion" for those who choose to end their lives while suffering incurable diseases and unbearable chronic pain.
The head of the Roman Catholic church said the right-to-die movement is "a sin against God and creation" in a speech in front of an audience from the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors in Vatican City on Saturday.
Pope Francis also condemned abortion, in-vitro fertilisation as "the scientific production of a child" and embryonic stem cell research as "using human beings as laboratory experiments to presumably save others."
He also urged the doctors - around 4,000 in attendance - to continue working in "courageous and against-the-grain" ways to discuss with patients how to deal with modern "throw-away culture" that he believes encourages only looking after people or objects if they are economically or visually beneficial to society.
He said, as reported by Zenit in a translation by Vatican Radio: "In many places, the quality of life is related primarily to economic means, to "well-being", to the beauty and enjoyment of the physical, forgetting other more profound dimensions of existence — interpersonal, spiritual and religious.
"In fact, in the light of faith and right reason, human life is always sacred and always "of quality". There is no human life that is more sacred than another - every human life is sacred - just as there is no human life qualitatively more significant than another, only by virtue of resources, rights, great social and economic opportunities."
Although Pope Francis did not mention the case specifically, the Vatican's top bioethics officials condemned the "reprehensible" assisted suicide earlier this month of American woman Brittany Maynard, who wanted to "die with dignity" while she was suffering with terminal brain cancer.
He also stated his views that creating life and giving birth to a baby is a "privilege and not a right" in defence of his comments made about abortion and IV fertilisation.
Pope Francis was elected in March last year after Pope Benedict XVI resigned the previous month after eight years in the pontiff role.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments