Pastoral care and accompaniment for people who request euthanasia or assisted suicide

Abstract

The article analyzes the genesis and application of some guidelines drafted by several Bishops’ Conferences concerning the pastoral accompaniment of people who request euthanasia or assisted suicide. Conversations with the patient and his or her family, administration of the sacraments, and funeral services are some of the topics addressed in these guidelines. The letter Samaritanus bonus from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responds to the need to give guidelines for those nations that do not yet have them and to unify the sometimes discordant criteria, although it still leaves some questions open.