CATHOLIC-L Archives

Archiver > CATHOLIC > 2003-03 > 1048202256


From: "Laurel Baker" <>
Subject: RE: [CATHOLIC] Living wills
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 18:20:44 -0500
In-Reply-To: <NFBBIKBMEGLJIEFJAPOLMEFNFPAA.pvc@vancamp.org>


Marie,

Your friend may find it helpful to read the Catechism sections on
Euthanasia (items 2276 through 2279, pg 549) and Respect for the dead
(item 2299, pg 553).

L

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phil Van Camp [mailto:]
> Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 3:50 AM
> To:
> Subject: RE: [CATHOLIC] Living wills
>
>
>
> Tough question .. ..
> As far as I know, the church has not expressed an official
> position on this.
> I haven't even heard of any unofficial church positions. I
> know of at least
> four Catholics (including myself who have (or had) "Living
> wills". Also, I
> mentioned it some months back with a priest friend who is a hospital
> chaplain, & he didn't blink an eye. I had brought up the
> problem of getting
> a witness signature while you were in the hospital since it cannot be
> witnessed by a relative or hospital employee (at least the
> ones I have seen
> in California).
> My understanding of traditional catholic teaching is that it does not
> require heroic measures to preserve life. My understanding
> (again) is that
> the church presents the will of God as forbidding any
> intervention that is
> designed / intended to cause death. No matter how good or
> beneficial the
> intended result may appear. A "good" end can never justify
> an "evil" means.
> However, *passive* actions which *may* lead to death, such as
> an elderly
> person who decides they are tired & stops eating, or turning off a
> respirator at the patients request (or expressed intention)
> is again, a
> passive action, & allows for the intervention of God possibly
> to keep the
> person alive.
> Our lives, our bodies, belong to God, & are subject to his
> will. For an
> individual to arbitrarily act to over rule the will of God is
> blasphemy.
> Intent is an important part of the equation. For a physician to give
> increasingly larger doses of narcotic with the sole intention
> of alleviating
> pain is acceptable. For a physician to give a large dose of
> narcotic to
> cause death, even if it is ultimately the same dosage, is not
> acceptable.
>
>
> Phil
> .
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: marie [mailto:]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 2:32 PM
> To:
> Subject: [CATHOLIC] Living wills
>
>
> A friend who wishes to make a living will is uncertain as to
> the view of the
> church on this. Is it comparable with euthanasia, or is it
> permitted to
> Catholics to make such a will?
>
>
> ==== CATHOLIC Mailing List ====
> This list is for discussion of genealogical reasearch of
> Catholic ancestors
> and Catholic genealogy resources only. Discussions of current or past
> Church controversies are not permitted.
>
> ==============================
> To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online
> genealogy records, go
> to:
> http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237
>
>
> ---
> Incoming mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.459 / Virus Database: 258 - Release Date: 2/25/03
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.459 / Virus Database: 258 - Release Date: 2/25/03
>
>
> ==== CATHOLIC Mailing List ====
> This list is for discussion of genealogical reasearch of
> Catholic ancestors and Catholic genealogy resources only.
> Discussions of current or past Church controversies are not permitted.
>
> ==============================
> To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online
> genealogy records, go to:
> http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237
>

This thread: