“In its 14 years of life, it is the third time that the Papal Pro-Life Academy deals with the subject of death and the assistance of dying people. In 1989, the focus was on the concealment of death in contemporary culture. In 2004, the reflection focussed on the assistance of sick people who are in a permanent vegetative coma. This year, we will reflect on the ethical and operational orientation in the assistance to terminally-ill or dying people": these are the words of mgr. Elio Sgreccia, president of the Papal Pro-Life Academy, as he introduced the presentation of the international congress, due in the Vatican on 25th and 26th February, named “At the side of terminally-ill and dying people: ethical and operational orientation”. “We feel the need to reflect on these issues added Sgreccia , now that euthanasia has been deployed more firmly and now that some countries have introduced it in their legal systems”. He mentioned Holland, Belgium and, to a different extent, Denmark and Oregon. “During the congress, we will try to reflect on the medical, psychological, welfare, as well as on the ethical and spiritual aspects, because the final stages of life are that dimension at the border between earthly life and what for the believers will be the ‘eternal’ life. It is an extremely important area in every man’s biography, and for us believers it is decisive in terms of hope in the afterlife”. (continued)
