After recalling documents and speeches by Pope John Paul II and Vatican bodies from 1981 to the most recent years, through quotations and textual references, the "Comment Note" of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith goes on in the following way: "In stating that the supply of food and water is morally compulsory in principle, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith does not exclude that in some very isolated or very poor regions, artificial nourishment and hydration may be materially impossible, and thus, ad impossibilia nemo tenetur (none is asked the impossible). However, it is compulsory to supply the minimum available care, and if possible, to secure the means which are necessary for adequate life sustain". Today’s document ends up with the following reflection: "In any case, these exceptional cases do not affect the general ethical criterion, according to which the supply of food and water, even by artificial ways, is always a natural means for preserving life, and not a therapeutic treatment. Therefore, its use will be considered ordinary and proportionate, even when the ‘vegetative state’ continues".
