“towards a narrative of hope:

Pope Francis’ message to the symposium
“towards a narrative of hope:
an international interfaith symposium on palliative care”

[Toronto, 21-23 May 2024]

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I extend my warm greetings and best wishes all who are participating in the First International Interreligious Symposium on Palliative Care, jointly sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and I thank their respective Presidents, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and Bishop William McGrattan. I am also grateful to the speakers at the Symposium and all who worked to make this gathering possible.

The theme you have chosen, Towards a Narrative of Hope, is both timely and necessary.
Today, as we witness the tragic effects of war, violence and injustice of many kinds, it is all too easy to succumb to grief and even despair.
But as members of the human family and especially as believers, we are called to accompany, with love and compassion, those who struggle and find it difficult to find reasons for hope (cf. 1 Peter 3:15 – Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence;). Hope is what gives us strength in the face of the questions raised by life’s challenges, difficulties and fears.

This is even more true when facing a serious illness or the end of life.
All those who experience the uncertainty that illness and death so often bring need the witness of hope offered by those who care for them and remain by their side.
In this regard, palliative care, while seeking to alleviate the burden of pain as much as possible, is above all a concrete sign of closeness and solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering.
At the same time, this kind of care can help patients and their families to accept the vulnerability, frailty and finitude that characterise human life in this world.

I would point out here that authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying.
Rather, it is a failure of love, a reflection of a “throwaway culture” in which “human beings are no longer seen as an overriding value to be cared for and respected” (Fratelli Tutti, 18).
In fact, euthanasia is often misrepresented as a form of compassion.
But “compassion”, a word that means “to suffer with”, does not involve the deliberate ending of a life, but rather the willingness to share the burdens of those who are facing the final stages of our earthly pilgrimage.
Palliative care, then, is a genuine form of compassion, because it responds to suffering, whether physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual, by affirming the fundamental and inviolable dignity of every person, especially the dying, and by helping them to accept the inevitable moment of passage from this life to eternal life.

In this perspective, our religious convictions offer a deeper understanding of illness, suffering and death, seeing themas part of the mystery of divine providence and for the Christians tradition, a means of sanctification.
At the same time, the compassion and respect shown by dedicated health care professionals and carers have often enabled those at the end of their lives to find spiritual comfort, hope and reconciliation with God, family and friends.
Indeed, your service is important – I would even say essential – in helping the sick and dying realize that they are not isolated or alone, that their lives are not a burden, but that they always remain intrinsically valuable in the eyes of God (cf. Psalm 116:15) and united to us by the bonds of communion.

Dear friends, I encourage all of you in your efforts to promote palliative care for the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.
May your discussions and reflections during these days help you to persevere in love, give hope to those at the end of life and to promote the building of a more just and fraternal society.
Upon you and your loved ones, I invoke the divine blessings of wisdom, strength and peace.

Rome, from Saint John Lateran, 26 April 2024