Office of Family Life

END OF LIFE

As part of addressing your health care needs your doctor has probably talked to you about end of life decisions and provided you with a form to make them known.   That form may or may not assist you with making choices that are consistent with your Catholic faith.  

The form provided below and approved by the Bishops of Minnesota is designed specifically to help you ensure that your life care decisions are in keeping with your Catholic faith. 

-Minnesota Catholic Conference Information including downloads for Health Care Directives (a Catholic Perspective), MN Catholic Health Care Directives, and Guide to End-of-Life forms.

-If you have any questions about the form or instruction guide provided please contact Sr. Candace Fier, Director of the Office of Family Life, at 507-233-5328 or cfier@dnu.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

- Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life), St. John Paul II

- Declaration on Euthanasia , Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 

- Life Sustaining Treatment and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemma, St. John Paul II 

- Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services

- Veritatis Splendor (Splendor of Truth), St. John Paul II

- A Pastoral Statement on Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

- Four Problems with Physician Assisted Suicide

- Assisted Suicide Is Not Compassion

- The Courier:  The Dignity of the Human Person and POLST

- Q&A from the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and Committee on Pro-Life Activists regarding The Holy See's Responses on Nutrition and Hydration for Patients in a "Vegetative State"

VIDEO TESTIMONIES:

The following are video testimonies, produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, highlight appropriate end-of-life care that is in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church.