<p><!-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --></p>
<p> <br />
</p>
<div>
<p>The Pope, responding to a question from EWTN News, said he made his opposition to the legislation clear in the November conversation with the governor.</p>
</p></div>
<div>
<p>Pope Leo XIV appealed to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to veto a bill legalizing assisted suicide during a Vatican meeting last month, the Pope told reporters Tuesday.</p>
<p>The Pope, responding to a question from Rudolf Gehrig of EWTN News, said he made his opposition to the bill clear in the November conversation with the governor. </p>
<p>Leo told Pritzker it was important to defend the value of life and that every life is sacred, the Pope told reporters outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo before his return to Rome.</p>
<p>The Vatican had not earlier provided details of the meeting.</p>
<p>Pritzker signed the assisted-suicide measure, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268459/bishops-call-illinois-assisted-suicide-law-signed-by-gov-jb-pritzker-heartbreaking" target="null">ardently opposed</a> by Catholic leaders, into law Dec. 12.</p>
<p>“I spoke very explicitly with Gov. Pritzker about that,” the Pope said, and he said Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich also expressed his views. “But we were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end. And unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill. Very disappointed about that.”</p>
<p>People should use Christmastime to think about the value of life, the Pope added.</p>
<p>“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas feast days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life. God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life. And I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death,” the Pope said.</p>
<p>Catholic bishops had objected to the Illinois law.</p>
<p>“This law ignores the very real failures in access to quality care that drive vulnerable people to despair,” according to the Catholic Conference of Illinois. “It does nothing to ensure patients are offered services, protected from coercion, or surrounded by loved ones &#8230;”</p>
<p>Several states and countries also have advanced legislation to expand access to physician-assisted suicide besides Illinois.</p>
<p>Other U.S. jurisdictions with assisted-suicide laws include California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. </p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV tells reporters Dec. 23, 2025, that he appealed to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzer to veto a bill legalizing assisted suicide during a Vatican meeting in November. Credit: EWTN News" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/pope-leo-2025-12-23-14-53-36.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV tells reporters Dec. 23, 2025, that he appealed to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzer to veto a bill legalizing assisted suicide during a Vatican meeting in November. | EWTN News</p>
</div>
<p>British lawmakers in the House of Commons <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264915/catholic-archbishop-shocked-and-disappointed-by-house-of-commons-passage-of-assisted-suicide-bill" target="null">passed a bill</a> in June to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in England and Wales. Legislators in Uruguay passed a bill in August to legalize euthanasia in the country.</p>
<p>A Canadian law allowing medical assistance in dying led to disproportionately high rates of premature deaths among vulnerable groups, a <a href="https://www.cardus.ca/research/health/reports/in-contrast-to-carter/" target="null">report</a> showed.</p>
<p><i>Rudolf Gehrig contributed to this story.</i></p>
</p></div>
<p><br />
<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-leo-asked-illinois-governor-to-veto-assisted-suicide-bill">Source link </a></p>
<p><!-- END THEIA POST SLIDER --></p>

Pope Leo Asked Illinois Governor to Veto Assisted-Suicide Bill| National Catholic Register
