Death And Dying In Roman Catholicism

Death and Dying in Roman Catholicism

Jesus Christ’s life and mission, which is now present worldwide, is the origin of the Roman Catholicism. Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became man, died and rose from the dead to redeem humanity from sin (Catholic Truth Society, 3). He passed his mission of salvation to the Catholic Church through his apostles and then their successors (Catholic Truth Society, 4).

Roman Catholicism’s views regarding life, and by extension death and dying, differ and oftentimes clash with secular views around death and dying. The sanctity of human life is a major tenet in Roman Catholicism where life is the most precious gift from God and the most fundamental of all goods. As God’s creation, man

Regarding euthanasia, which the Church defines as acts of commission, such as actively assisting a patient to take his or her own life, or omission, such as withholding nutrition and other support to patients, that cause death in order to eliminate suffering, the Church lives by two principles. Pope Pius XII taught the use of ordinary means to sustain life and extraordinary means in some cases, a principle that the Vatican later refined with support for the withholding of medical treatment or technology if it is excessively burdensome or not beneficial to the patient. The Church also tries to distinguish between patients in persistently vegetative states and terminally ill patients, which secularists tend to group together in their advocacy for euthanasia (McHugh).

Dying Catholic patients may request to see chaplains to receive one or some of the seven sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ, that enable them to experience Christ’s presence. A dying Catholic can receive the sacrament of baptism, penance, or anointing of the sick (Catholic Truth Society, 4). For example, a priest can baptize dying babies and adults at the bedside; however, a baptized adult can perform the ceremony in emergency cases

Depending on how they lived their mortal life, their souls could end up either in heaven, purgatory, or hell. Heaven, the supreme definitive happiness, is the reward for those who lived righteous lives, within God’s laws, and died in God’s grace and friendship, thus perfectly purified forever with Jesus Christ. Purgatory is the destination of those who died in God’s grace and friendship but not purified, so they undergo purification to enter heaven. Hell is the destination of those who gravely sinned against God