Life and Death Education: A Canonical Paradigm Based on the Right to Christian Education

Contemporary research on life-and-death education (LDE) increasingly approaches the questions concerning life and death through medical, psychological, sociological, and legal frameworks. Within the Catholic tradition, Christian education is fundamentally linked to human life and dignity and to the salvific mission entrusted by Christ to the Church, as clearly enunciated in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 as one of the rights of the Christian Faithful: “Since they are called by baptism to lead a life in keeping with the teaching of the gospel, the Christian faithful have the right to a Christian education by which they are to be instructed properly to strive for the maturity of the human person and at the same time to know and live the mystery of salvation” (can. 217). This paper seeks to explore how can. 217 provides an important framework for what may be termed a Christian LDE, namely, an educational process that accompanies and forms the faithful by ensuring life in its fullness (ars vivendi) throughout human existence and prepares them for the final moments of death (ars moriendi) in the light of faith in the Christian hope of eternal life.