As some of you know, my family recently experienced the death of my beloved father, Robert J. Wallace. He lived a long and wonderful life, passing away three days short of his 96th birthday.
It is always painful to watch the dying process of loved ones knowing that their final struggle will end in natural death. Like so many families, we had to experience in his last months the difficult transition from life to death, the questions about pain management, and other decisions concerning his dignity and faith.
With this personal experience fresh in my mind, it was with particular interest that I read of a very important statement by the Bilateral Commission of the Delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism during their meeting May 2-4 in Jerusalem. The theme that caught my attention: “Jewish and Catholic Approaches to the terminally ill: The Prohibited, the Permitted and the Obligatory.”
The bilateral commission began its dialogue with a statement by Rabbi Yehudah Cohen, the new director-general of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, stating that the inherent dignity of each human being, shared by both Jews and Catholic, affirms “the principles of our respective religious traditions, according to which God is the Creator and Lord of every life and human life is sacred because, as the Bible teaches, the human person is created according to the divine image. (Gen 1:26-27) Therefore, we reject the concept of active euthanasia and assisted suicide as an illegitimate human arrogation of an exclusively divine authority to determine the moment of a person’s death.”
After Rabbi Cohen’s address, the commission’s work commenced. The Catholic delegation shared their guiding principles in the treatment of the terminally ill by sharing Pope Francis’ stance, embedded in so many of his statements over the years cautioning contemporary culture’s movement toward the acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide, as “progressively eroding the understanding of that which makes human life precious.” The statement included, “For both Jews and Christians, taking care of the terminally ill with belief, respect and love means truly to light the lamp of faith and hope at a time shrouded in darkness and a sense of solitude and abandonment for both patient and dear ones.”
A conversation concerning this important topic began in 2006, when the commission first issued a statement that absolutely rejected “active euthanasia, sometimes called mercy killing and physician-assisted suicide, as the illegitimate human arrogation of an exclusive Divine authority to determine the time of a person’s death. Accordingly, there must be limits to the application of science and technology in recognition of the fact that not everything which is technically feasible is ethical.”
The Commission also built their present statement on the 2019 statement on the joint declaration made among Jews, Christians and Muslims, which placed “special emphasis on the importance of compassionate palliative care and maximal effort to alleviate pain and suffering.” Based upon these foundational agreed-upon statements, the commission made a distinction “between actions that hasten death, and actions of omission beyond the provision of basic human needs.” It continued by highlighting “withdrawing continuous medical treatment (e.g., ventilator or pacemaker) does not have the same ethical implications as suspending life-prolonging medical treatments beyond basic human needs (e.g., dialysis, chemotherapy).”
Cardinal Kurt Koch – prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and president of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews – headed up the Catholic delegation, along with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Together with the Jewish delegation, they had an opportunity to visit the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem – a facility founded in 1902 and affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The leaders said that this medical facility treated the terminally ill in accordance with the principles of human dignity and care expressed in their joint statement.
Those who minister to our family members in hospitals, hospices, nursing facilities and home care visitation are on the front lines of these final decisions. We thank them for their inestimable help to families in these difficult situations, as they strive to bring dignity and beautiful care to our loved ones in their final journey to God.
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
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