Pope Leo XIV firmly speaks out against euthanasia / “Impossible to consider this normal”

Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned euthanasia and the French law on “assistance in dying” in a speech delivered on Sunday in Lourdes, before sick pilgrims, people with disabilities, and volunteers. The pontiff argued that “it is impossible to consider it normal to give someone death” and warned that what is legal is not necessarily moral.

The Pope called for the development of palliative care and medical research, emphasizing that sick people are not a burden but “the beating heart of humanity.” He rejected “the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion” and stated that medicine must not become “the servant of programmed death.”

The message from Lourdes reiterates the position expressed by the Pope on Friday, at the Élysée Palace, where he criticized the law adopted in France on July 15. The legislation allows, under certain conditions, some incurably ill patients to administer a lethal product to themselves, with the support of a caregiver.