Pope calls assisted dying ‘false compassion’ at Lourdes
Pope Leo XIV condemned the legalisation of medically assisted death as “false compassion” during a visit to Lourdes, the French shrine associated with miraculous healings.
Speaking to about 5,000 sick people and caregivers at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on September 27, the pope said: “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”
France legalised assisted suicide and euthanasia this summer, becoming the fifth European country to do so after Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Spain. The law lets adults with incurable illnesses receive lethal medication.
On the same day, the pope met seven survivors of clergy sexual abuse, continuing a regular appointment for popes on foreign visits aimed at atoning for the Church’s failures.
The four-day France visit drew huge crowds, including 800,000 at the pope’s Mass in Paris, and has been marked by his messaging on the sanctity of life.
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