Pope Leo XIV, during his visit to France, addressed French bishops with a call to maintain 'maximum vigilance' in the face of the scourge of abuses. He emphasized that ending life cannot be considered normal, stating that legality does not always equate to morality.
During his visit to the Accueil Notre-Dame center, located within the Sanctuary of Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV noted that this place receives and assists the sick and elderly. He stated that fragility is not hidden here but becomes a place of sacred encounter.
The Pope called for cultivating a contemplative view that sees life in its depth, recognizing its aspects of freedom, beauty, responsibility, and gratuitousness. Lourdes became an important pilgrimage site after the Catholic Church officially recognized the apparitions of the Virgin Mary described by a young woman in 1858.
The site, located near the Spanish border, receives millions of pilgrims annually, especially believers suffering from illnesses and disabilities who hope for healing through the famous water of the Lourdes Grotto spring, where the apparitions are said to have occurred.
At Accueil Notre-Dame, Leo XIV stressed that for those suffering from specific pathologies and sometimes terrible pain, the horizon can seem dark, uncertain, and dead-end. However, he maintained that no legislation should deprive people of confidence in their dignity. On the contrary, it is precisely for this inherent human dignity that the temptation to take life under the pretext of false pity must be resolutely rejected.
Addressing healthcare workers, he asked them to remember the deep meaning of their calling: to care for the suffering person, not to eliminate them. He recalled one of his recent statements, according to which no one ever has the right to decide the fate of a specific embryo or elderly person based on laboratory algorithms.
The criticism from the head of the Catholic Church followed after the French parliament approved the right to assisted suicide in July. This legislation applies to patients with severe and irreversible diseases experiencing suffering.
The Pope added that medicine can never become a servant of planned death. At the same time, he advocated for the creation of palliative care structures and research, as well as accompanying the sick 'with tenderness, as happens in Lourdes.' He also emphasized that healthcare workers are 'the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church.'