Ethical Guidelines
Flourishing of the human person
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops developed and revised (2018) this document (ERD) to reaffirm the ethical standards about the dignity of the human person and provide guidance on moral issues that face Catholic healthcare today. All people associated with Divine Mercy Home, including those service providers referred by the organization, attest that they will adhere to these directives.
“The ERDs lead to the ultimate flourishing of the human person”—Msgr. Mark Merdian, S.T.L., presenter at the Sept. 2023 Catholic Medical Association annual conference
This statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops discusses the dignity of every human person, the false notion of compassion in assisted suicide, and proposes a better way to address the needs of people with serious illnesses.
Catholic Considerations for Our Earthly Passing
Understanding basic principles of care and preparing for the transition of a loved one into eternal life.
Killing the Pain, Not the Patient: Palliative Care vs. Assisted Suicide
This PDF explains the difference between assisted suicide and end-of-life care.
Advanced Medical Directives: Planning for Your Future
This document provides a relatable example of how important it is to prepare an advanced directive by discussing various scenarios with our loved ones as preparation for the occasion of them not being able to verbalize their wishes for end-of-life care. Pathways for Catholic-based decision-making are discussed. (One example of an Advanced Directive provided during the 18th Annual Divine Mercy Medicine, Bioethics, and Spirituality Conference in 2023. Another example, recommended by a bioethicist on our Advisory Board. A third option, from the Arlington Diocese Respect Life Office.)
Caring for Loved Ones at Life’s End
This two-page article discusses 10 pillars for Christian accompaniment of loved ones during their journey into eternal life.
Kathy Kalina, RN sheds light on what meaningful support for the terminally ill may look like.
Order for the Blessing of the Sick | USCCB
The blessing of the sick by the ministers of the Church is a very ancient custom, having its origins in the practice of Christ himself and his apostles.
Additional Resources:
National Catholic Bioethics Center
New Video Series on Dying Well
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, Director of Education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center on Death and Dying, shares insights on the end of life on Earth.
A Catholic Guide to Palliative Care and Hospice
This downloadable document offered by NCBC explains the similarities and differences between palliative care and hospice, as well as the challenges each presents.
A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions
This is a second downloadable document offered by NCBC which provides a brief and clear explanation of Church teaching on advance directives, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide with a glossary of terms, as well as sample advance directive and power of attorney forms.
Ethical principles for end-of-life care, prepared by the ethicists at NCBC, February 2013.
General guidelines on food and water provisions, prepared by the ethicists at NCBC, February 2013.
Discusses benefits, concerns, and guidelines regarding the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) document which is considered an optional document for patient end-of-life care and requires consideration of patient relevance to particular changing medical status. A Catholic version of POLST is also provided.
Palliative Sedation While Approaching Death
Discusses St. John Paul II’s teachings on the meaning of suffering and the importance of retaining consciousness toward the end of one’s life.
Facing Death in Solidarity and Hope
Explores the meaning of the word compassion and the importance of human contact and accompaniment of a loved one facing their final journey home.
A Contemporary Ars Moriendi For End-of-Life Care
Considerations explored regarding institutionalized vs. home end-of-life care.
Explores the notion that a “good death” is characterized by a sense of wholeness and well-being provided by being surrounded by loved ones as opposed to a “poor death” often manifested by fear and anxiety of institutionalization.
A closer look at the benefits and burdens regarding end-of-life decision-making.
Considerations of pain management.
More articles by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk who is the Director of Education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center on Death and Dying:
- Working Through a Hard Death
- Towards “Passive Euthanasia”
- Defending the Dignity of Those with Dementia
- Facing Terminal Illness Realistically
- Powerlessness, or the Hidden Power in Our Suffering?
- Talking Americans Down from the Assisted Suicide Ledge
- On Aging Gracefully
- Cremains and Respect for the Human Body
- Can I Donate my Body to Science?
- Destroying My Freedom—in the Name of Freedom?
- “No Tubes for Me”
- Deciding About Dialysis
- Going Too Far With DNR?
- Of Proxies and POLSTs: The Good and Bad of End of Life Planning
- To Be or Not To Be: Parsing the Implications of Suicide
- Promethean Medical Temptations
- The Welcome Outreach of Perinatal Hospice
The following book is available on the NCBC website and is an updated version of the original 15th-century text, still applicable today. It explores the five temptations that often accompany the dying and provides five pathways of encouragement toward holiness during this final battle on Earth:
The Art of Dying: A New Annotated Translation
Do you have a question about a particular circumstance and are wondering which would be the ethical choice to make? The National Catholic Bioethics Center has free personal consultation available:
Papal Encyclicals and Address
St. John Paul II’s letter on the Gospel of Life was written in 1995. The following excerpt is taken from paragraph 88: “When earthly life draws to a close, charity enables the elderly and terminally ill to enjoy genuinely humane assistance, particularly in response to anxiety and loneliness. In particular, hospitals, clinics, and convalescent homes above all should be places where suffering, pain, and death are understood in their human and Christian meaning.”
A two-page synopsis published by the USCCB in 2020 for the 25th year anniversary of Evangelicum Vitae.
Dives in Misericordia (30 November 1980) | John Paul II (vatican.va)
30 April 2000, Canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska | John Paul II (vatican.va)
Letter of Pope John Paul II on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering and its relevance in the plan of Redemption when joined with Christ’s suffering on the cross. “Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished….Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.” (19) February 11, 1984
Address of the Holy Father Pio XII on the Religious and Moral Implications of Analgesia
1957 address to anesthesiologists from Pope Pio XII on the religious and moral implications of pain management. This document explores the due diligence in not over-medicating persons experiencing pain to the point of unconsciousness unless absolutely necessary.
Letters of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Samaritanus Bonus: on the Care of the Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life — en espanol (PDF)
In 2020, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released the letter Samaritanus Bonus, “on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life.” The letter reaffirms the Church’s teaching on care for those who are critically ill or dying and offers additional pastoral guidance for increasingly complex situations at the end of life. Summaries of each section of Samaritanus Bonus are included in this compendium prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to serve as a resource on an introduction to this letter.
The Roman Catholic Church’s official document on the topic of euthanasia, issued in 1980, declaring that euthanasia is a crime against life.
Saint John Paul II Lecture Series in Bioethics
In Defense of Human Life by Francis Cardinal Arinze, taken from the Saint John Paul II Lecture Series in Bioethics. Cardinal Arinze teaches us about the dignity of human life and exposes some of the errors in how the world values human life. For the Catholic church Human life is sacred from the moment of conception to natural death. Cardinal Arinze states that life is precious and presents to us these teachings through Holy scripture and Church tradition. He reviews some of the threats to human life today and examines in more detail abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. He gives us advice on how to protect human life and advance that teaching to the world.
“The throw-away culture says, ‘I use you in as much as I need you. When I am not interested in you anymore, or you are in my way, I throw you out.’ It is especially the weakest who are treated this way—unborn children, the elderly, the needy, and the disadvantaged. But people are never to be thrown out, the disadvantaged cannot be thrown away! Every person is a sacred gift, each person is a unique gift, no matter what their age or condition. Let us always respect and promote life! Let’s not throw life away!”