|
 I
heard a great story about a photographer who was assigned
to take pictures of a waterfall. He was advised that a small
plane would be waiting to fly him over the site.
The photographer arrived to find a small Cessna airplane
was waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, "Let's
go!" The tense man sitting in the pilot's seat
swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the
air, though flying erratically.
"Fly over the waterfall and make several low-level
passes," the passenger said
"Why?" asked the nervous pilot.
"Because I'm going to take pictures!" yelled
the photographer.
The pilot looked terrified while asking, "You mean
you're not my instructor?"
That joke may have caused some suffering in your life. It's
fitting because suffering is what we're talking about
today. Suffering can mean anything from listening to country
music to losing a job or a loved one. So, what do we do?
This issue's question will hopefully help us understand
the Catholic view of suffering. |
Dear Father Joe:
Why is the Church so opposed to euthanasia? Why is it wrong to
alleviate suffering? It seems to me we demand more compassion
for a suffering dog than a person.
Thank you for your question. I know
this is a hard issue to look at and sometimes it may not seem to
make sense. I hope this column helps. What I intend to do is take
a look at the topic of euthanasia and give some of the reasons
why the Church does not support this idea.
Intellectually, we have to look at the context
of euthanasia. Too often, we make an assumption that
there are no medical alternatives to allow us to "die with
dignity." Now, I do not have the time or expertise here
to cover all of the alternatives. So, I encourage all of you
reading this article to research those medical options including
pain management and Hospice.
As a side note here, I also have to say that in a
day and age when we lack faith in people, it amazes me that we
would be so comfortable giving an entire class of people the power
of life and death over us.
Philosophically, euthanasia presents a problem
morally from the standpoint of what is called the "slippery
slope." The slippery slope argument points to
the tendency of power to corrupt. Once you give people (and not
God) power over life and death, it tends to corrupt the individual.
It seems OK for us to "assist a person in death" who
expressed a desire to die, but then we could move to "assisting" those
who have expressed no desire, but who we think would want to.
The next step is, obviously and tragically, ending the life of
those we feel should want to die.
When we look at the many and varied abuses
that occur in the health system now, can we honestly say we trust
them with the power to say who lives and who dies? This
is NOT a rip on doctors, nurses and other people who help us
stay healthy and alive. This is a tragic statement of reality
about the current health care system when evaluated in light
of trends we have seen throughout history.
Spiritually, we have a whole other set of problems when looking
at euthanasia. We make, as far as I can see, two assumptions in
supporting euthanasia that do not line up with our Catholic tradition
and faith. First, we assume that suffering is always bad. Secondly,
we assume that we have the ultimate power to run our lives.
Is suffering always bad? Starting
with the premise that we were saved by Jesus' suffering and
death, I believe that we can state the answer to that question
with an emphatic "no." I remember giving a presentation
at a church where I was approached afterward by a man who indicated
it was easy for me to be happy and have faith in God because I
hadn't suffered. I asked him if he considered the possibility
that I was happy and had faith because of intense suffering. He
didn't see it.
What a shame that we cannot see that there
is a value to suffering that encompasses the whole person. We
learn much about ourselves and the world around us in our pain;
we also learn what joy is, don't we? How would we know the goodness
of happy moments if we didn't have pain? I know from experience
that people assume if you are happy in life, you have never suffered.
What a tragedy. Again, lacking the space to explore this issue
in depth, I ask you to consider what I am stating.
Secondly, we assume that we have the power
of life and death over ourselves. Good news, folks,
we do not. God created us to love and serve Him in freedom. By
freedom, I do not mean doing whatever we want to do. That leads
to slavery to our desires. The only place we will find freedom
is in our surrender to living the way we were created to live as
God's own children. A part of that involves surrendering
to God and even joining Him who suffered so greatly for us. I
have written in the past about this concept of "joining
our sufferings to Jesus."
I want to close with a reflection on the
phrase "dying with dignity." I vaguely remember
the first time Jack Kevorkian took someone's life. I can
recall all the news coverage and how he left the dead person
in a van outside the county morgue. I also remember, as the number
of his victims climbed, his casual attitude about the whole thing.
Finally, I remember the 60 Minutes episode where he euthanized
someone for a television audience. I did not watch the show (and
have boycotted 60 Minutes since then), but in the news the next
day, the comments were that Kevorkian asked the "patient" if
he was ready, then said "Okeydokey" and poisoned
the man. I don't see any dignity there.
I know this is a difficult topic, and I assure you
I have had to deal with it in my own life with loved ones. I have
found great strength and hope in the teachings of the Catholic
Church and pray that you will experience this as well.
Enjoy another day in God's presence!
Originally Published: November 2002
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