What happened?

Vincent Lambert, the severely disabled Frenchman who was at the centre of a legal battle, has died after his doctors cut off his supply of food and water.

Lambert’s parents, who are Catholic, had fought for him to be kept alive, but doctors and Lambert’s wife argued that he would have wanted to die. The legal battle had lasted for six years.

The Church regards the removal of food and water as euthanasia. Lambert’s father said his son’s death was “murder in disguise”.

What Church leaders said