End of life:
Bishops release letter on health care decisions

MADISON -- Wisconsin's Catholic bishops have released the second edition of their pastoral letter on end-of-life healthcare decision-making and advance-care planning, Now and at the Hour of Our Death. The statement voices the bishops' concern and compassion for those facing critical health care decisions and shares a moral and ethical framework for making such decisions.

"The conference issued the first edition of this pastoral statement in 2002 and it has proven to be our most frequently requested document," explained Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) Executive Director John Huebscher. "In the four years since, there is even more interest in the moral questions surrounding death and dying. The bishops want to engage that interest and reissuing the document is an effective way to do that."

The release on March 20 marked the solemnity of St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, husband of the Virgin Mary, and patron of a happy death.

"We believe that St. Joseph died in the loving embrace of Mary and Jesus. As followers of Christ, we seek the same embrace, the same comfort, and the same peace in our final hours here on earth," stated Archbishop Timothy Dolan, archbishop of Milwaukee and president of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. "Death is not to be feared. We are to rejoice in our destiny, the gift of everlasting life, promised us by Jesus, achieved, not by our efforts, but by his dying and rising."

Moral challenges

The pastoral letter opens by acknowledging that advances in medical technology create both opportunities and moral challenges. As medicine continues to strive to preserve human life, scientific progress poses new ethical questions regarding the meaning of life and death.

The letter offers guidance to those who face a serious illness and those who are seeking to prepare in advance for their medical care. It addresses the challenges faced by society today, noting the increasing threat of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The document also provides guidance in the church's teaching on various life support measures, pain medication, and overly aggressive medical treatment. Attention is given in the document to the teachings of the late John Paul II on these questions.   Full story ...

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