A top Vatican official today condemned Brittany Maynard's decision to end her own life rather than suffer with terminal brain cancer, saying there is 'no dignity' in assisted dying.

Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, made the remarks just two days after Miss Maynard, 29, took a lethal prescription of drugs at her Oregon home.

Speaking to Italian news agency Ansa, he said: 'This woman (took her own life) thinking she would die with dignity, but this is the error. Suicide is not a good thing.

'It is a bad thing because it is saying no to life and to everything it means with respect to our mission in the world and towards those around us.'

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Criticism: Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula (left), head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has condemned Brittany Maynard's (right) decision to end her own life rather than suffer for months with terminal brain cancer

Happier times: The official, whose Academy is responsible for ethical issues in the Catholic Church, made the remarks just two days after Miss Maynard (pictured), 29, took a lethal prescription of drugs at her home

Monsignor Carrasco de Paula, whose Academy is responsible for ethical issues in the Catholic Church, even went so far as to describe assisted suicide, in itself, as a reprehensible 'absurdity'.

He added: 'Dignity is something different to putting an end to your own life.'

The Roman Catholic Church opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide, teaching that life starts at the moment of conception and should end at the moment of natural death.

Ms Maynard was diagnosed in January with stage IV glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of terminal brain cancer. In April, doctors gave her just six months to live.

She hit headlines around the world and became the face of the right-to-die movement after revealing her plans to end her own life this month under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.

On Sunday, she passed away in the arms of her husband, Dan Diaz, and surrounded by friends and family in her home in Portland, the Oregon-based group Compassion & Choices said.

Fulfilling her dreams: At the end of last month, Ms Maynard managed to tick off the last item on her bucket list: a visit to the Grand Canyon. Above, she is pictured with her parents and husband, Dan Diaz, at the Canyon

Tearful: Brittany wept in a video days before she passed away in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by her family

Against Roman Catholic teachings: Monsignor Carrasco de Paula (pictured being welcomed by Pope Benedict XVI in February 2012) went so far as to describe assisted suicide, in itself, as a reprehensible 'absurdity'

On the day of her death, she posted an emotional message to her loved ones and supporters via Facebook according to People. It read: 'Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love.

'Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more.

WHAT IS THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH'S VIEW ON EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE? The Roman Catholic Church opposes both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. It teaches that life starts at the moment of conception and should end at the moment of natural death. Life should, therefore, be valued not only when it brings pleasure and happiness, but also in times of suffering and pain. However, the Church considers it acceptable to let nature 'take is course' toward the end of a person's life. Thus, it permits advanced medical care and treatment to be refused if this is in the best interests of the patient. In physician-assisted suicide, patients with a terminal diagnosis formally request a prescription for a fatal dose of drugs which they can administer to themselves at a time of their choosing. In contrast, euthanasia sees a physician or other healthcare provider administer a known lethal dose of a drug to deliberately kill a patient, with or without their consent. Advertisement

'The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type.

'Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!'

Late Sunday, Sean Crowley, a spokesman for Compassion & Choices, said in a statement that Ms Maynard has been suffering 'increasingly frequent and longer seizures' and severe head pain.

He added: As symptoms grew more severe she chose to abbreviate the dying process by taking the aid-in-dying medication she had received months ago.'

At the end of last month, Ms Maynard, who married Mr Diaz at Beltane Ranch, California in 2012, managed to tick off the last item on her bucket list: a visit to the Grand Canyon.

She revealed on her website that she had managed to travel from her home in Oregon to Arizona with her husband, mother and stepfather 'thanks to the kindness of Americans around the country who came forward to make my 'bucket list' dream come true'.

On Monday, Mr Diaz was revealed to have described Ms Maynard as a 'beautiful person on the inside' with a 'personality you really get attracted to' just weeks before her death.

Talking to People.com in October, the 43-year-old spoke of when they first met, saying at first glance she was beautiful, but as they grew closer he realized she was also stunning on the inside.

'For me it was meeting the person I fell in love with and that was Brittany. Jokingly, she would say I'd certainly been single long enough because there was an age difference between us,' he said.

Grief-stricken: Mr Diaz (pictured during an interview with People.com) described his late wife as 'beautiful'

Connection: Mr Diaz and Ms Maynard are seen on their wedding day at Beltane Ranch, California, in 2012

'And "What's taken me so long?" and my answer was, honestly, that I hadn't met the girl for me until Brittany.'

He said that he quickly realized that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. They met when he was 35 and she was 23.

After a five-year romance Mr Diaz proposed in May 2012, and the pair decided to get married that December. They tied the knot in the romantic setting of Beltane Ranch, California.

'Friends have told me our wedding was the best wedding they'd ever been to,' he told the magazine.

The couple spent their honeymoon in Patagonia, Argentina, a trip that Mr Diaz said was 'amazing'

Memories: The couple shared one of the last items on Brittany's bucket list - a trip to the Grand Canyon

Debilitating: A scan shows the Glioblastoma multiforme that would claim her life slowly within 14 months

It was the best of both worlds,' Mr Diaz told People. 'We'd go out to glaciers, go see nature, go for a hike and then come back and get pampered.

'So I'd say we really did it right where we had a lot of what she wanted – the outdoors, hiking and trekking and seeing the beautiful sights in nature – but then we'd also come back to the hotel and relax.'

On Monday Debbie Ziegler, 56, Brittany's mother also paid tribute to her late daughter.

She described everything from cartwheels as a child to volunteering in Nepalese orphanages that made her only child 'smart', 'charismatic', and 'driven'.

Tribute: Brittany Maynard's mother Debbie Ziegler (pictured) described how her daughter would cartwheel for hours on end until she could do it perfectly. It was a sign of the love and effort she put into everything, she said

Love: She respected Brittany's decision to take her own life, saying it was her job to 'love her through it'

A single mom, Ms Ziegler raised Maynard alone in Orange County, California, where she worked as a science teacher.

Last week, Ms Maynard cried in a parting message, describing the painful prospect of leaving her mother childless.

But Ms Ziegler insists she feels blessed to have the shared 29 years before her daughter contracted Glioblastoma multiforme - an aggressive tumor in her brain.

'Early on, I told her, 'It would be my honor to take care of you, whichever way; if you need to be fed or diapered, it would be my honor,'' she said. 'And that was important for me, for her to know.'

Now mourning the loss of her child, Ms Ziegler said she will one day travel to Machu Picchu in Peru.