I have finally learned to say someone “died by suicide” rather than “committed suicide.” While the Catholic Church does teach that taking one's own life is grave matter, we now recognize that those who die by suicide are often in such an altered mental state, they may not capable of acting with deliberate consent. Therefore, it is our obligation to pray and hope for those who died by suicide, just as we may hope for the salvation of all the dead.
But that only speaks to the culpability of the dead. Can we not also hope that fewer people will die?
The cliché is true: Depression lies. Despair lies. They tell you that your dark ruminations are insights, not delusions: that life is good, but you are not worthy of it, or that life is meaningless, and you are the only one willing to admit it.
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