Cardinal Vincent says we should both cherish life and embrace natural death

In a homily delivered in Lourdes on the Day for Life, the day on which the Church celebrates and affirms life from conception to its natural end, Cardinal Vincent said that we should both cherish life and embrace natural death.

 

Affirming that every human life has intrinsic value, regardless of health or disability, he said, 'this is why we oppose those who wish to pass laws assisting suicide, giving people the right to die when they want. The right to die is somebody else's duty to kill; and we don't accept that. We both cherish life and we embrace death.'

 

Comparing life's journey to the Lourdes pilgrimage, he said it is 'a practice run for our pilgrimage through life. We learn that we gain strength when we walk together; we learn to look out for those in need; we learn that we gain more by giving than by taking.'

 

In its 26th year, the Westminster pilgrimage to Lourdes takes place from Monday 27 July to Friday 31 July.

 

The full text of the Cardinal homily can be found here.