Walter Miller was a firm Catholic, and thus was opposed to the idea of suicide or euthanasia. * SPOILER * Later, as the priest lay dying himself, again the mo

Walter Miller was a firm Catholic, and thus was opposed to the idea of suicide or euthanasia. * SPOILER * Later, as the priest lay dying himself, again the moral argument was raised; but this time (with the reader identifying more closely with the protagonist) Miller wrote eloquently about the importance of 'natural' death. I didn't necessarily agree with his point of view while I was reading it, but (like the best science fiction) it became something I thought deeply about for a long time afterwards.