by: Deacon Ryan Pope - The Prairie Catholic correspondent
SLEEPY EYE, Minn. – At a time when questions of life, death, and human dignity will soon take center stage in Minnesota’s legislative debate, clergy, religious, healthcare professionals, parish leaders, and the faithful from across the Diocese of New Ulm gathered to reflect on what it means to uphold the sanctity of life while accompanying those who suffer.
On Oct. 10, 2026, participants gathered at Schoenstatt on the Lake Retreat Center for the diocesan Ethics Conference, titled “The Gift of Life, The Grace of Dying: Responding to the Church’s Teachings on Assisted Suicide.” The conference took place as Minnesota prepares for another legislative session in January in which lawmakers are expected to consider, for the thirteenth time, legislation promoting physician-assisted suicide under the term “medical aid in dying.”
The annual ethics conference sought to deepen Catholics’ understanding of Church teaching, strengthen moral clarity, and equip the faithful to uphold the dignity of every human life with truth and compassion. Through this formation, participants were invited to consider how the Church can accompany those facing suffering and end-of-life decisions, offering mercy and hope while affirming the sacredness of life and the inherent dignity of every person.
Created in God’s image
Bishop Chad Zielinski of New Ulm opened the day with Mass. Preaching from Genesis and the opening creation accounts of the Gospel of John, Bishop Zielinski reminded the faithful that God pronounced His creation “good” and, creating the human person in His own image and likeness, declared it “very good.” Human life is not merely one good among many; it is the only part of creation stamped with God’s own likeness, having an infinite and inherent dignity. Yet sin introduced disorder into the world and into our own lives. Illness, suffering, and death were not a part of God’s original design.
The bishop emphasized that the holy sacraments restore a right order within us, reorienting our hearts toward the God who created us, redeemed us, and accompanies us through every stage of life.
Naming the issue clearly
Opening the conference, Dr. James “Jerry” Joyce, M.D., established the moral foundation for the discussion by directly naming the issue: “What is being proposed as ‘medical aid in dying’ is truly ‘physician-assisted killing.’” He warned that “euphemisms,” or indirect words, can desensitize the public and obscure moral reality.
Dr. Joyce is a retired Family Practice physician with over 43 years of rural medicine practice. He noted that “pain” does not appear among the top five reasons patients give for seeking physician-assisted suicide. Instead, he explained, “fear of the unknown” and “loss of control,” as well as other concerns, are among the most commonly cited reasons in states where physician-assisted suicide is legal. Therefore, the claim that “your doctor won’t be able to help you relieve pain without this type of legislation” is misleading and simply untrue.
Drawing on Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Hippocratic tradition, Dr. Joyce emphasized a vision of mercy that encourages virtue while relieving suffering. Upholding Jesus, the Divine Physician, as our model, he highlighted Christ’s compassion, self-gift, and suffering with and for others, perfectly revealed in the image of the crucifix, as paramount to compassionate care.
“We have lost so much faith in systems to alleviate suffering,” Dr. Joyce explained, speaking of healthcare systems and providers. “We would do well to grow in our faith in God, in Christ, and even in the individuals we are with. We should express our faith to them and let them demonstrate their faith and the power of Christ working through them.”
Ethical and religious directives
Dr. Scott Helstad, Ph.D., Director of Ethics with Avera Health, led two sessions exploring the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), the Church’s authoritative guide for Catholic healthcare in the United States.
Dr. Helstad reflected on a foundational truth expressed in the ERDs: “Without health of spirit, high technology focused strictly on the body offers limited hope for healing the whole person.”
He emphasized that Catholic healthcare, and healthcare more broadly, must always care for the whole person, body, mind, and soul (spirit), recognizing that every patient is created in the image of God. He also traced the development of the Catholic moral teaching on healthcare, beginning with the life and example of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church Fathers.
Drawing from the seventh edition of the Ethical and Religious Directives, published in 2025, Dr. Helstad highlighted several key principles, including the sacredness of human life as a gift from God. As he explained, “We are not the owners of our lives and, hence, do not have absolute power over our lives.”
While we have a responsibility to preserve life, Dr. Helstad clarified that this duty is not absolute.
Medical treatments must be evaluated in light of their potential benefits and burdens, distinguishing between ordinary/proportionate means of preserving life and treatments that demand extraordinary/disproportionate means of preserving life and result in excessive burden.
Throughout the ERDs, Christ remains at the center of Catholic healthcare, which is understood as a continuation of his work. In the directives, we see that suffering can unite us to Christ’s passion and death, until transformed by his Resurrection, it becomes a final act of Communion with him.
He also explored the newly revised directive concerning nutrition and hydration, offering a compassionate perspective on its application in end-of-life care. Through these sessions, Dr. Helstad invited participants to consider how the ERDs guide healthcare decisions rooted in faith, compassion, and respect for the dignity of every human person, particularly in the most vulnerable moments of life.
Responding to suffering
Drawing on more than 40 years of hospice and palliative nursing care through the Mayo Healthcare System, Amy Crowley, RN, BSN, offered a moving reflection on suffering, presence, and the sacredness of accompanying the dying. She began by inviting attendees to prayerfully consider their own definitions and experiences of suffering, explaining that “there’s no wrong in the room” when it comes to defining suffering.Crowley reminded the audience that suffering extends beyond the physical and can often leave individuals feeling isolated. She emphasized that we all have a role in accompanying those who suffer, including family members, caregivers, healthcare professionals, clergy, parishes, and the wider community.
After sharing what hospice care entails, Crowley noted, “Hospice is hard work, but it is sacred work.” She reflected on the difficulty of putting the beauty of hospice care into words, and when asked how she could do such challenging work, she explained, “If you have that calling, how can you not?”
Sharing stories of families who discovered unexpected grace in the final days of a loved one’s life, Crowley noted that suffering is not just experienced by the dying, but also by the spouse or parents, family, friends, the healthcare professionals, clergy, and others who experience suffering alongside dying.
“It’s not my story and plan,” Crowley said. “It’s their story and plan,” and emphasized the importance of presence, silence, listening, and time when accompanying those who are nearing the end of life. In contrast, she expressed concern that medical aid in dying (physician-assisted suicide) takes all of that away and rushes to the end. She added that accompanying the dying is an act of mercy that honors the dignity of the person and the hope of eternal life.
A call to witness
The conference concluded with a challenge from Sister Candace Fier, ISSM, MTS, RN, BSN, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life and a key organizer of the annual Ethics Conference. She asked: How will we become witnesses? How will we speak the truth with clarity, accompany those who suffer, and defend the sanctity of life in our parish communities?
She explained that Minnesota’s repeated attempts to legalize physician-assisted suicide demand a clear, compassionate response. The Church does not deny suffering; she enters it. She doesn’t hasten death; she reverences it. She doesn’t abandon the dying; she accompanies them.
Bishop Zielinski urged those gathered to “take it to prayer.” Pray for our legislators, for our healthcare workers, for families facing difficult diagnoses, and for all who fear suffering or death. Pray for courage to speak the truth with love and compassion. Above all, pray that our state may always choose authentic mercy – one that protects life, accompanies the suffering, and honors the God-given dignity of every person from conception to natural death.