Originally Posted by djplong

Father Benson, who was quoted in the link you provided, seems to be SOMEWHAT at odds with the official Vatican position that I found here:

Respect for the dignity of the dying

I started having problems with Section 4. Although they DO speak of allowing for pain medication to ease the suffering of terminal patients, there are also lines such as the following:



The arrogance is sickening. A DNR or a living will is a cry for attention??? Now, a 'regular' suicide attempt is very often exactly what they say - but the cases of people suffering from disease or other terminal/chronic malady? Sorry. They're wrong here. I've related the case of my grandmother before - and I think I've also spoken about my adoptive mother's suicide. I was the only one she told when she made her plans specifically because she did NOT want an army of rescuers telling her what was best for her (since an army of doctors already told her she wouldn't get better).

Yes, they say it's ok to "die naturally", but their definition of "naturally" and mine have some differences.

You're certainly right in that a CHURCH cannot be forced to do something that is anathema to their faith. To use another contemporary example, a church cannot be forced to perform a gay marriage. By the same token, they shouldn't be forcing THEIR beliefs on others when engaged in more public activities. Here's something I found when checking on Vatican bigotry:



So, in your mind, should a Catholic hospital be allowed to ban gays from employment?