America, October 3, 2005, p. 6 [Signs of the Times]

Archbishop Clarifies Catholic View on Dying Catholics who wish to follow church teaching on end-of-life decisions must not attempt to continue “life at all costs” or reject all human suffering as without value, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark said in a new pastoral letter. The 11-page letter on death and dying—titled “Whether in Life or in Death, We Are the Lord’s,” quoting from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans—was dated Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Archbishop Myers said Catholics believe that “death is not an evil that should be feared.” “Unnecessarily prolonging death, clinging at all costs to this life, can be an attempt to reject what our faith boldly proclaims, ‘Death has no more power over Christ!’” he said. Similarly, “the inability to accept that suffering is redemptive, or the inclination to immediately end the pain of those who are suffering, reveals that we have not yet accepted the way for us to live the fullness of our humanity.” Church teaching makes us “morally obligated to use ordinary means for maintaining and ensuring physical health,” the archbishop said. But, he added, “when specific medical conditions indicate that a medical treatment may place excessive burdens on the patient without a sufficient benefit, the decision not to undertake such a treatment can be morally licit.”