There are two sets of thematic questions. Take 5 minutes to jot down your response(s) to one of the questions in the first set and then discuss the responses of the group for 15 minutes. You may choose to answer any one of the questions, and the group need not address every question in the set. Repeat the same process for the second set of questions. Total discussion time: 40 minutes. (Note: These questions cannot adequately be addressed in such a short time. They are good discussion starters, however, and you may continue to ponder them and share them outside the workshop with others you know.)

1. If you had the opportunity to ask God any question about the dying process and/or death, what would you ask? What might God’s response be to your question?

2. Studies indicate that people have many fears about the dying process and death itself, including fears about:

• Loss of control, unable to do things for oneself and to make one’s own decisions
• Intolerable pain
• Isolation and loneliness
• Uselessness; the inability to be productive
• Impairment of one’s mental capacity
• Being a burden to others
• Financial impact on those who are left behind
• Abandoning one’s loved ones; leaving things unfinished or unresolved
• Doubt; fear of losing one’s faith or most basic convictions in the face of suffering and uncertainty

            Which one or two of these represent your greatest fear(s) and why? Any other fears? What kind of help would you              most appreciate from others, including your family and parish, to overcome such fears?

3. What positive events, interactions, or accomplishments would you like to experience if you learned that you were          dying within six months? What steps could you take right now to begin to make such experiences more likely?

4. The Catholic Church looks at the dying process as a necessary part of life that offers a special opportunity for                personal and spiritual growth even in the face of death. The video mentions the following areas of possible growth that    can make dying a time of comfort and hope:

• allow and seek forgiveness
• offer thanks
• prepare for eternal life
• demonstrate love
• say good-bye, assured of greater things to come

1. As the video mentioned, the Catholic Church sees human life as a mystery and a gift from God. Imagine that the subject of assisted suicide comes up in a conversation you are having with someone who does not believe in God. How might you convince the other that assisted suicide denies human dignity? Think of the three human-interest stories in the video.
2. The video raised several concerns about assisted suicide, including:

• Patients will lose trust in the medical profession if doctors are allowed to assist suicides.
• Permitting assisted suicide for the dying sends the message that some people are not wanted any more.
• Patients will be pressured to commit suicide by agencies and family members who do not have their best interests at heart.
• The government will not be able to stop abuses.
• Assisted suicide does not respond to the true needs of the dying.
• There are positive alternatives that make assisted suicide unnecessary.

Are these valid concerns? Discuss. Think of at least one other concern that you would raise about assisted suicide and explain why.

3. The video talks about "compassionate hospice care that neither prolongs life nor hastens death". What do you know about hospice? Can you share an experience that you had with hospice, perhaps as a volunteer or as a relative or friend of a hospice patient?
4. According to the video, the Catholic Church does not mandate the use of medical treatment "at all costs" and permits pain medication even if the foreseen but unintended shortening of life is a risk. Did this surprise you? Did anything else in the video come as a surprise? Discuss.