"whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to Me." (Mt. 25:40)
I don't know what it was that triggered all aspects of this to fall into place in my mind. Oddly, I remember musing in my post Easter supper trance, whether or not there is an Easter equivalent to the term "bah, humbug". As you probably know, the Dickens phrase is now symbolic with the idea that none of this matters. The "this" in this case refers to a holiday sentiment in particular. After all, there is no downside to "He is Risen". What can work against this?
It's interesting to note that Pope John Paul II's, body is weakened, but what he is saying is so very strong...that life is vital, that his purpose continues to serve His purpose, and that carrying on is precisely what God would have us all do.
Then there is the Terri Schiavo case. There is no new news to share at this point, as it is clear that Terri's court ordered execution will reach it's only ordained conclusion.
I'll have to deal with Michael Schiavo, the various court systems and the politicos later. For the moment the thoughts and prayers are with Terri and her family. For the moment, it should not be about politics, legalities, and the courts. This should have been a slam dunk decision in favor of life; and only a system that is too screwed up to get it right can get it this wrong.
To withhold food and water from someone is criminally negligent. As a society, we wouldn't condone starving a 3 month old baby. Terri Schiavo is a 3 month old in a large person's body. Tragic, yes. The fundamental point is this: How can it be okay to end someone's life simply because they cannot feed themselves? The second point is, how can a court direct the taking of a disabled person's life. Third, how can either of these things be done against the wishes of the persons parents and loved ones? The logical conclusion of all this is that it is okay to kill someone as long as you are the legal guardian.
I'm glad Pope John Paul is still giving us the benefit of his input.
6 comments:
Terri Schiavo's long death is no more a "court-ordered execution" than is taking Grandma home for her final days instead of keeping her in the hospital.
It's the way most of us who survive accidents and wars are going to die.
That's life.
I don't believe anyone would vote to starve grandma to death.
This woman, Terri Schiavo, is disabled, but not brain dead. She is conscious. She laughs, she cries, she sees, she thinks.
And the people who really love her, her mother and father, see that; and should be given the opportunity to care for her.
And now that it is okay to kill someone as long as you are the legal guardian, all of us are at risk.
How do you think Grandma's death happens? Do you think it's the cancer that finally eats through the bowel wall that shuts down the vital systems?
It's not. Grandma's not being able to eat or drink any longer is what shuts it all down. The only way to avoid this is to keep Grandma in the hospital, where she can be piped nourishment until the bowel wall ruptures, in which case she will be in much more anguish and just as dead.
You're acting like this person's death is otherwise imminent. Sure, play God and declare that this person should die, and sooner rather than later. "Hurry up and die because you are such a nuisance". Nice. Glad you're not my guardian.
Yeah, imminent. That's why we took Grandma home.
And we're damn glad we didn't have Jeb Bush telling us we couldn't.
Chuck Colson has posted a post mortem on the Terri Schiavo case.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/chuckcolson/2006/05/24/198546.html
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