The Illinois bishops on death and dying. A pastoral letter presents Church teaching in a succinct and understandable manner.

I n the past 15 years, American bishops—acting at times alone, at other times in state conferences, or as members of a committee of the U.S. Conference of Cathol ic Bishops—have issued more than 15 pastoral s ta tements concern ing the care of people approaching death. Some of these statements were written in regard to specific people. For example, local bishops made statements regarding the care of Paul Brophy, Elizabeth Bolivia, Nancy Beth Cruzan, Christine Busalacchi, and Hugh Finn. In most cases, these statements acknowledged the anguish and suffering of those family members who had to make decisions about removing life support, And the bishops usually agreed that the family involved was not trying to kill its loved one but merely seeking to discontinue useless treatment or to remove an excessive burden.