Cardinal Matteo Zuppi calls on Italy to fill the gap in palliative care

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, called on the Italian state to guarantee palliative care, pain therapy, and assistance for the sick before advancing legislation regarding end-of-life issues. Speaking at the opening of the Permanent Council in Rome on September 21, Zuppi rejected the concept of a right to die, stating instead that people have a right to be cared for and never left alone.

Zuppi's comments come during debates in Italy regarding national legislation and regional initiatives related to assisted suicide. He distinguished between euthanasia, the use of disproportionate medical treatments, and the refusal of treatments that no longer benefit a patient. He noted that opposing the deliberate provocation of death does not mean defending the prolongation of treatments that offer no proportional benefit to the patient.

During his address, Zuppi also referenced the encyclical Magnifica humanitas by Pope Leo XIV and expressed concern regarding the rehabilitation of war and rearmament.