Ö: Keine Angst vor dem Tod – eher vor dem Sterben

Austria: No fear of death – rather fear of dying

That is what the Archbishop of Vienna said in an interview with Ö1's midday journal on Saturday. "I view death with Christian hope, that it is not the end of everything, but that death is like a dark gate through which I must pass, and then I will be in the light and with God."

More troubling to him is the question of what dying will be like: whether it will be a painful death, with years of illness and as a care case. But here too he trusts in the medical possibilities that already exist today, and in the people who will be there to accompany him.

Dying by the hand of another person

Asked what he would say to a person who expressed to him a wish for assisted dying, Grünwidl said: "I would ask a person who says, I no longer want to live: What would have to change so that you want to go on living? Is it unbearable pain, loneliness, the feeling of meaninglessness?" Even if it concerns a "medically hopeless case," "I would offer that he can die pain-free, in good care and security, at the hand of a person, but not by the hand of a person," said Grünwidl, referring to a famous statement by Cardinal König.

A society must measure itself by how it treats the sick and the dying. "But the final step is always the decision of conscience, and that must be respected," said Grünwidl. "If a person, despite all the offers of help we can provide, comes to the decision that I do not accept these offers and I take the step of assisted suicide, then that decision must be respected." The archbishop added: "It saddens me when it comes to that."

Faith should bring hope

In times of multiple crises, it is a main task of the churches and religious communities to encourage courage and offer hope, Grünwidl stated, and he opposed all tendencies to want to solve problems through strength and violence. "The weak God, Christ, who was nailed to the cross, brings a message of love, self-giving and peace." The world cannot be changed for the good through war or tyrants, but only through "people who commit themselves to what is good, who live nonviolently, who think of others and look out for others, who live love."

(kap – sk)