Lourdes- France Sept 27. (dpa/GNA) – Pope Leo XIV, condemned all forms of euthanasia during a visit to the French pilgrimage town of Lourdes on Sunday, appealing to doctors and other health care workers to care for suffering patients rather than end their lives.
“We must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion. It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal,” Leo said, stressing that “what is legal is not necessarily moral.” No one had the right to decide on life “on the basis of laboratory algorithms,” he added.
The head of the Catholic Church directed his criticism at legal frameworks governing euthanasia in various European countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.
The French National Assembly also passed a law on assisted dying by a large majority this year, after lengthy debates.
Lourdes is the penultimate stop on Leo’s visit to France.
On Monday, the pope travels on to Metz, near the French-German border, where he plans to deliver a speech on Europe.
GNA