From LifeSiteNews

By Michael Haynes, Snr. Vatican Correspondent

Visitors are invited to pray before the late pontiff’s coffin inside the basilica through Friday evening ahead of Saturday’s funeral.

Pope Francis’ remains were translated into St. Peter’s Basilica this morning, where they will now be on display for the faithful to pay their respects until Friday evening.

In a ceremony replete with Gregorian Chant throughout the procession, the bodily remains of Pope Francis were brought into the Vatican basilica from the chapel of the Casa Santa Martha guesthouse, where they had been lying in state on Tuesday.

Faithful and others wishing to view the late pope’s remains will now have a chance to do so prior to his funeral on Saturday:

• Wednesday 23 April: 11:00 a.m. until midnight.
• Thursday 24 April: 7:00 a.m. until midnight.
• Friday 25 April: 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

At 8 p.m. on Friday evening, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Papal Camerlengo, will preside over the right of closing of the pope’s coffin in readiness for his funeral the next morning.

Francis died at 7:35 a.m. on Monday morning, and his death was announced to the world a little over two hours later. In accordance with ecclesial law, his death was certified by the camerlengo that day and the papal apartments he used sealed – not to be opened again until the arrival of the new pontiff.

On Tuesday his remains lay in state in the chapel of the Casa Santa Martha guesthouse, which he had made his home for the duration of his 12-year reign rather than the Apostolic Palace and the papal apartments.

His death has triggered an outpouring of statements from world leaders expressing their sympathies, with many now due to be in attendance at Saturday’s funeral. Figures such as Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Prince William are expected at the Vatican this coming weekend.

In addition, many thousands of pilgrims who had been due to attend the now cancelled canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis are also expected to attend the funeral.

As for the start of the conclave itself and the rounds of voting to elect a new pope, the Church’s law stipulates that this must begin between 15 and 20 days after the pope dies. In this case, that would mean starting around May 6 at the earliest, and May 11 at the latest.

Pre-conclave General Congregation meetings have already started as of Tuesday morning, with the second taking place on Wednesday afternoon. These events provide an opportunity for cardinals to get to know one another, as well as to formalize practical details regarding the conclave.

Following the funeral, though, such meetings will take on an increasingly serious nature as cardinals look among themselves for a suitable candidate to become pope.

From LifeSiteNews

By Calvin Freiburger

Even happy, healthy lives without major issues can warrant needless ending if they are ‘complete.’

Notorious secular “ethicist” Peter Singer has co-authored an opinion piece in The New York Times positing a chilling new rationale for assisted suicide: the determination that one’s life is simply “complete.”

Princeton psychologist Daniel Kahneman died in March 2024 at age 90. His cause of death was not disclosed at the time, but a year later, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Kahneman had emailed friends the day before to tell them he was traveling to Switzerland to avail himself of the country’s legal physician-assisted suicide.

“I think Danny wanted, above all, to avoid a long decline, to go out on his terms, to own his own death,” WSJ journalist and longtime friend of the deceased Jason Zweig wrote. “Maybe the principles of good decision-making that he had so long espoused — rely on data, don’t trust most intuitions, view the evidence in the broadest possible perspective — had little to do with his decision.”

On April 14, The New York Times published a guest essay by the infamous Singer, a pro-infanticide Princeton bioethics professor, and philosophy professor Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, who shared that they too knew of Kahneman’s plans and that days before he had told them, “I feel I’ve lived my life well, but it’s a feeling. I’m just reasonably happy with what I’ve done. I would say if there is an objective point of view, then I’m totally irrelevant to it. If you look at the universe and the complexity of the universe, what I do with my day cannot be relevant.”

“I have believed since I was a teenager that the miseries and indignities of the last years of life are superfluous, and I am acting on that belief,” Kahneman reportedly said. “I am still active, enjoying many things in life (except the daily news) and will die a happy man. But my kidneys are on their last legs, the frequency of mental lapses is increasing, and I am 90 years old. It is time to go.”

Singer and de Lazari-Radek argued that this was an eminently reasonable conclusion. “(I)f, after careful reflection, you decide that your life is complete and remain firmly of that view for some time, you are the best judge of what is good for you,” they wrote. “This is especially clear in the case of people who are at an age at which they cannot hope for improvement in their quality of life.”

“(I)f we are to live well to the end, we need to be able to freely discuss when a life is complete, without shame or taboo,” the authors added. “Such a discussion may help people to know what they really want. We may regret their decisions, but we should respect their choices and allow them to end their lives with dignity.”

Pro-lifers have long warned that the euthanasia movement devalues life and preys on the ill and distraught by making serious medical issues (even non-terminal ones) into grounds to end one’s life. But Singer and de Lazari-Radek’s essay marks a new extreme beyond that point by asserting that even happy, healthy lives without major issues can warrant needless ending.

“Instead of seeing every human life as having inherent value and dignity, Singer sees life as transactional: something you are allowed to keep by being happy, able-bodied, and productive — and something to be taken away if you are not,” Cassy Cooke wrote at Live Action News.

In America, nine states plus the District of Columbia currently allow assisted suicide. In March, Delaware took a step closer to becoming the 10th with its own legalization bill, although it has yet to become law. Another bill recently failed in Maryland.

Support is available to talk those struggling with suicidal thoughts out of ending their lives. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988.