ACADEMY FOR LIFE: NO TO EUTHANASIA, NO TO ASSISTED SUICIDE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 26, 1999 (VIS) - The Church's condemnation of euthanasia and assisted suicide has been reiterated in the first days of meetings of the Fifth General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, according to a communique made public today by participants in the assembly. The four-day meeting in the Vatican's Old Synod Hall began on February 24 on the theme "Death and the Dying Person."

"What has emerged with force," says the communique, "is the Church's position of condemnation of death which is inflicted or administered because of 'false pity'. According to Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 'euthanasia and assisted suicide represent a double attack on life, even if there is the presumed will of the patient to leave this earthly life'."

Bishop Sgreccia, adds the communique, "appealed to 'the reasonable forces of society' to side against behavior of abandoning the terminally ill and against administering death to a person who is dying. He also appealed for appropriate care for those who are ill, in particular stopgap measures and home care."

The communique explains that the juridical aspects of euthanasia were addressed in the meeting, looking at those countries where it is illegal, but not punishable in a court, to those which have "a criteria of justified necessity, which means 'a lesser evil' (euthanasia) in order to avoid a great one (the patient's suffering)."

The communique concludes with a summary of the Church's position: "What is important is to maintain the quality of life of the patient, even during their last days, without having recourse to aggressive therapy and without causing direct anticipation of death."

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THE PILGRIM'S CARD IN THE JUBILEE YEAR

VATICAN CITY, FEB 26, 1999 (VIS) - A second press conference to report on organizational aspects of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 was held this morning at the Holy See Press Office.

Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary of the Central Committee of the Great Jubilee, and Francesco Silvano, delegate for telecommunications and information technology, spoke on the Pilgrim's Card and the computerized system of welcoming pilgrims.

The card has the purpose, said Archbishop Sepe, "of knowing and verifying the flux of tourists who will come to Rome in order to ... guarantee that pilgrims, especially those who have travelled from far away, take part in events scheduled on the Jubilee calendar." Other aims are "to provide civil authorities with information on the presence of tourists in Rome on a daily basis" so as to organize the services involving volunteers, safety, city and suburban transport, sanitation and food.
Francesco Silvano explained that the Pilgrim's Card will have a memory chip with the person's health data so as to facilitate medical attention if necessary; the information concerning the events for which the pilgrim has booked; and information relating to meals.

The pilgrim who has this card will be able to use all public transport available at an advantageous price and, paying in advance, will be able to telephone from any of the 130,000 telephones that there will be in Italy. Likewise, certain goods can be purchased at reduced prices during the Jubilee year.

In reality, said Mr. Silvano, "there are several types of Pilgrim's Card": one for Italians and foreigners; another to take part in only one event and which is valid for a day, and another for Roman citizens. For example, the one-day card will cost 10,000 lire, and the card covering urban transport and telephone calls will cost 50,000 lire. Groups of foreign pilgrims will receive their card when they arrive in Italy.

Luca De Mata spoke of the new Holy See web site dedicated to the Jubilee, opening with words from Pope John Paul's 1980 Encyclical "Dives in Misericordia": "The development of computer technology will multiply the creative capacities of people and will allow them to have access to the intellectual and cultural riches of other peoples."

Dr. De Mata recalled that new Internet site (www.jubil2000.org) 'was completely created by the Central Committee in collaboration with various offices of the Holy See and the editorial division of the Central Committee: it became active on February 22, 1999, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. The very first day there were 45,000 hits." Visitors who navigate this web site, he added, can hear the Holy Father's voice, read daily information from the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Information Service and L'Osservatore Romano, and listen to news from Vatican Radio.


Explaining that the site is structured in seven languages - Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish - he announced that "on the June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, we wish to present the Holy Father with the site in Russian and, for the 21st anniversary of his election on October 16, 1999 to add Chinese and Arabic to the web site. On December 13, 1999, feast of St. Lucy, the blind will also be able to have access to this site."

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