Tajemnica życia, cierpienia i śmierci

Abstract

European medicine, at least since the age of Hippocrates, has been based on the axiom that human life is priceless. Even if doctors did not need to justify or formulate this claim, the axiom of the priceless value of human life provided a guideline in their work. As a matter of fact, it was only in the 20th century that increasingly often a call was expressed to abolish traditional laws forbidding doctors to kill the weakest. It is noteworthy that sometimes also secular doctors and lawyers, several of whom are mentioned in the article, protest against this. The second part of the article presents four essential elements of the Christian approach to suffering: 1. Not only are we allowed, but also encouraged to avoid pain and save others suffering. 2. This should not be done at any price, however – we must not do evil in order to avoid suffering. 3. People in pain deserve our help, kindness and solidarity. 4. Those who suffer can and should transform their unavoidable pain into a spiritual act. Finally, the article also attempts to answer the question of the nature of moral support to the dying person. The answer is given in the shape of short postulates. Thus we should do our best to: 1. Respect the dignity of the dying person and the seriousness of death. 2. Accept the fact that death is not an absolute evil. 3. Believe in the unique value of wise endurance of evil. 4. Seek a unique form of communion with the dying person. 5. Take care of the subjectivity of the dying person. 6. Abstain from lies and at the same time communicate the truth with love. 7. Restore a social dimension to human dying. Issued In 1995, the Health Care Personnel Charter even makes a reference to “the evangelization of human death” (no. 131).