LA Cardinal Weighs In On Terri Schiavo Case
Apr 01, 2005
Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony said Thursday Terri Schiavo was denied the chance to die with dignity because of the legal and legislative battles waged over the removal of her feeding tube.
(NBC4.tv, March 31, 2005) LOS ANGELES -- "It seems to me that the dignity and graces of a natural death have been violated through this endless process, and that what should be a time of quiet and peaceful prayer with a loved one has somehow become the platform for many groups with various agendas," the leader of Southland Catholics said in a statement.
Schiavo, 41, died at a Florida hospice Thursday morning, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed, and 15 years after her husband and family began battling in the courts over whether she should be put to death.
Her plight sparked a national debate over end-of-life issues in which the courts, Congress, Florida Legislature, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Bush and right-to-life groups all became involved.
A Church official at the Vatican called the decision to let Schiavo die "an attack against life, which is an attack against God."
But Mahony said people "need to engage more fully the moral and technical dimensions of prolonging human life as well as allowing a person to die peacefully according to God's design."
He said Schiavo "has caused all of us to focus more deeply upon the value of each human life from conception through natural death." But he added that her case highlighted the need for people to learn more about their own end-of- life options, and be informed through their religious beliefs about human life and death.
"Terri Schiavo has created a teachable moment for all of us," he said.
He said the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will post on its Web site a sample Advanced Medical Directive people can discuss with family members and sign "so that should they no longer be able to make medical decisions for themselves, designated persons will have full authority to carry out that person's wishes."
"Our Catholic moral tradition always calls us to give the benefit of the doubt to life, not to death," he said. "At the same time, legitimate Catholic medical ethical guidelines exist to help us as we face these very important questions."
Mahony said that "without knowing it, Terri Schiavo has offered us a moment to pause and reflect deeply upon life and death issues -- issues that most of us would not have discussed among ourselves."
LA Cardinal Weighs In On Terri Schiavo Case