Bishops Call for Day of Prayer and Fasting to Stop Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in France

End of life: French bishops call for a day of fasting and prayer on February 20thThe bill on "active assistance in dying," after being rejected by the Senate, returns to the National Assembly this Monday, February 16. The formal vote will take place on Tuesday, February 24. The text to be debated clearly leads our country down the path of euthanasia and assisted suicide, with serious measures such as the absence of a mandatory establishment clause and the criminalization of obstruction. Even the law on palliative care, which had enjoyed broad consensus, is now weakened by the removal of the measure aimed at creating palliative care centers.

Far from the unanimity hoped for by some, this issue is generating immense concern and strong opposition from many healthcare professionals, patients, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The bishops of France have spoken out extensively on the subject , forcefully reiterating the inalienable dignity of all human life and calling for life to be supported until the very end through the widespread development of palliative care throughout the country: "Life is not cared for by giving death."

In communion with Pope Leo XIV, who calls for "defending the intrinsic dignity of every human person even as our world struggles to find value in human life, even in its final hour," we, the bishops of France, invite Catholics who wish to do so to a day of prayer and fasting on February 20, the first Friday of Lent , to ask the Lord to enlighten consciences on the gravity of the issues at stake in this proposed law.

The bishops of France, who assure the faithful of their prayers at the threshold of our journey towards Easter, ask that this message be shared in the dioceses and read in the parishes during the Sunday masses this weekend or on the occasion of the Ash Wednesday Mass .

Source: https://eglise.catholique.fr/sengager-dans-la-societe/eglise-et-bioethique/fin-de-vie-euthanasie-aide-a-mourir-comprendre-enjeux-loi-2025/569392-jeune-priere-fin-de-vie-20-fevrier/