Pope Leo XIV condemns French assisted dying law during visit to Lourdes sanctuary

Condemnation of assisted dying in Lourdes

Pope Leo XIV condemned the legalisation of medically assisted dying and abortion during an address at the Accueil Notre-Dame care centre inside the Sanctuary of Lourdes on Sunday. Speaking on the third day of his four-day tour of France, the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics addressed sick pilgrims, individuals with disabilities, and medical staff. The pontiff argued that state legislation cannot establish moral legitimacy and urged medical personnel to commit to palliative care rather than ending lives. He addressed the physical suffering of patients with severe medical conditions, assuring attendees that human dignity does not diminish with illness.

“It is impossible to consider causing death as normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”

He appealed directly to doctors and nurses to remember the purpose of their vocation, urging them to care for suffering individuals rather than eliminate them.

“Medicine must never become the servant of a programmed death.”

French legislation and European context

The papal critique directly addressed the end-of-life legislation passed by the French Parliament on 15 July 2026, which took effect in August. The reform, advanced during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron before he leaves office next spring, established the right to assisted dying under specified statutory conditions. Under the French provisions, patients must be legal adults suffering from an incurable, life-threatening illness with unbearable pain, and they must retain the capacity to express clear and free consent. The medication is prescribed following medical consultations and must generally be self-administered by the patient, with practitioner assistance permitted only for individuals who are physically incapable. The measure added France to a group of jurisdictions with assisted dying frameworks, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, and Uruguay.

Shrine mass and abuse response

Earlier on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air mass at the Marian pilgrimage site at the foot of the Pyrenees, with crowd estimates ranging between 150,000 and 200,000 people. The sanctuary has drawn millions of pilgrims annually since the Catholic Church recognised Marian apparitions reported there in 1858, with many seeking healing in the spring waters of the Massabielle grotto. During the religious service, the pontiff called for peace and rejected social trends that evaluate human life through the prism of suffering or advanced age. The papal schedule in Lourdes also incorporated discussions on clerical sexual abuse. Leo XIV instructed French bishops to maintain the strictest vigilance and continue implementing anti-abuse measures, and he scheduled a private, closed-doors meeting with seven victims of clerical abuse.

French itinerary and European address

The papal visit is organized under the official motto "That the world may have life". Pope Leo XIV opened his four-day visit on Friday with an address at the Élysée Palace in Paris, where he initially raised his objections to the end-of-life legislation. Lourdes serves as the penultimate destination of the journey. On Monday, the pontiff travels to the eastern city of Metz near the Franco-German border, where he is scheduled to deliver a formal speech on European affairs before concluding the tour.