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Both In Life and In Death We Are The Lord's
My Dear Friends in Christ,
Each weekend in our liturgy, in our Profession of Faith, we proclaim the Holy Spirit as "the Lord and Giver of Life." At that moment we affirm a truth that must permeate all aspects of our lives as Christians. Even more, it is a vision and light which we must bring to bear in the midst of a society that is often very confused in its values. For that reason I write this special letter about the importance of upholding and defending human life, a great gift from God.
Over the last several months, I have been dismayed to read of ongoing public debate about the dignity and value of human life from so many different perspectives. On the one hand, we are all familiar with the ongoing struggle to defend the right to life of the unborn. Even though advances seem to have been made because of recent judicial decisions, we all recognize that a deeper struggle continues; we need a conversation of mind and heart, a re-prioritizing of values.
Because of the subtle influences of the world around us, it is so easy for us to slip into the vocabulary and mind set of "choice." We think that "freedom" means being able to "choose without restraint." But actually, that is a very impoverished notion of what freedom really means. Christian freedom has to do with choosing life and recognizing the presence and love of God as it manifests itself from the first moment of conception all the way to the last breath of natural death. The truly "free" person does not choose between good and evil but chooses only the good. One of the greatest goods a foundational good for every other blessing and right is the sanctity of human life itself. Without that foundation, what else do we have?
Like you, I have been greatly troubled over the past few months at the great number of people who feel that assisted suicide can be a permissible option. While I realize that many times the way a question is phrased determines the answer, nonetheless, I feel a certain moral obligation to reflect with you on this matter.
So often we look only at the pragmatic or surface values and forget the deeper spiritual truths and underlying theological perspective.
Throughout our Judeo-Christian tradition, we revere both the beginning and the end of life as a mystery, part of the mystery of God's love for us. Just as we had no control over our own origin, so too we believe that it is God's right to determine the number of our days. Ultimately, life is a gift from God; it is not something that belongs to us as a private possession. It has been given to us according to God's plan and God's timetable.
Instinctively, every human being recognizes the truth of the Faith Commandment: Thou shall not kill. Yet, we can be subtly persuaded that "mercy killing" or "physician assisted suicide" or "euthanasia" is a morally acceptable way of handling a situation in which pain and suffering seem intolerable. In the face of such thinking, the Church proclaims as morally unacceptable any act or omission which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that suffering, may be eliminated. (See 1980 Declaration on Euthanasia from the Vatican Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith.)
Some qualifications and nuances must be articulated at this point. First of all suicide in any form is a sign that hope has been lost. It is a reminder of our failure as a society to respond to the anguished plea of someone else for help and love. Because a host of psychological factors can greatly diminish personal responsibility, the Church never makes a judgment about the person in question. But the Church can and does have a right and responsibility to speak to the issue of suicide as a so-called "solution" to the problem of suffering and pain.
Secondly, we must make a careful distinction between "allowing to die" on the one hand and "killing" on the other hand. It is precisely that distinction which is being blurred in the present polemic. Since we believe that death is an integral and necessary part of life, the very process of dying can and should be a means of redemption and spiritual healing. This is so, even though physical pain is present. How often has each of us seen families previously torn apart by dissension united around the deathbed of a loved one? Do we not often speak of "deathbed conversations"? Anyone who has watched a loved one slowly fading from this world knows how deeply touching those last hours and moments can be. Love is purified, memories are healed, and new meaning and hope is given to the survivor. Yes, we believe in the importance of allowing someone to die with dignity and according to the timetable of God.
To choose to shorten that process either by our self of for the sake of someone else is morally unacceptable. It is not our right or privilege to intervene in the mystery of our own or someone else's tenure here on earth.
As I stated above, allowing someone to die is one thing and actually taking steps that would induce death is quite another, It is one thing to judge about the worth of specific treatments but quite another treatment is open to discussion and consultation; the second choice actively terminating life is not.
In the face of ever-evolving medical technology and abilities to sustain and prolong life, the late Pope Pius XII over thirty-five years ago made a critical distinction: We are held only to using "ordinary means" for the preservation of life; no one is obligated to accept a treatment which is "extraordinary."
Today moral theologians use another set of terms to say the same thing obligatory treatment and non-obligatory treatment. How do we make the distinction? One must weigh the anticipated benefit of a treatment against the burden that it would impose on a patient. As the Vatican Declaration on Euthanasia reminds us, no one is obligated to have recourse to a technique, which carries a risk or is burdensome. When death is inevitable, it is permitted, in good conscience, to refuse treatment, which would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life. Even in these cases, however, the normal care of food water and cleanliness due a sick person must not be interrupted.
Opening the door to the concept of "assisted suicide" is truly a very dangerous thing. Simply put, it suggests that we can make ourselves God and decide when and how we should die or someone else should die. We cannot judge the value of a human person simply by our own appraisal or whether or not a person is "useful." In the mystery of God's providence and love, every person especially those who are most vulnerable contains the vital presence of the Eternal God within him or her. Any violence done to another human being even an unborn child or a dying patient is truly a destruction of the gift of God. Furthermore, such action weakens the very fiber of our society itself and the deep respect and confidence that people should have in their physician or caregiver.
We, as Christians, believe we are stewards of God's gift of life; one day we will be asked for an accounting of how we have used it. We ha come from Him and we will return to Him. Every day is a "letting go' back into His loving hands. In that sense, each day we die a little, we learn to recognize and accept the fact that we are decreasing and God is increasing in us and through us. The final moment of our personal diminishment is what we call "death". By another name, we can speak if it as fullness of life for it means complete union in and with the Risen Lord. This is our hope. This is our faith. This is what we proclaim when we call Christ's Spirit, "the Lord and Giver of Life."
I pray that you will join me in special prayer, penance ad study on behalf of the defense pf all forms of human life from the first miracle of conception to the last breath of natural death. May God bless you and your families always.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
Adam Cardinal Maida
Archbishop of Detroit
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