America, you must come out of
your comfortable life-styles now and you must come out into the
streets and into the public places and you must shout the
Gospel of Life from the rooftop. Do not be afraid. Jesus Christ
is with you."
(JPII-World Youth Day Denver)
New York State Health Care Proxy Law -- A Catholic Perspective - click here
Reflection
by Father Frank Pavone Priests for Life
I recently had the privilege of blessing the grave of Terri Schindler-Schiavo,
who was murdered on March 31, 2005 by dehydration. Her grave is not far
from the place where she died, and where people from around the world
had gathered to protest and pray.
Those who visit the gravestone, however, will notice something highly
unusual. While on most graves there is an inscription of two dates -
when the person was born and when he or she died - on Terri's there are
three. Here's exactly what the grave says:
Born December 3, 1963
Departed this Earth February 25, 1990
At Peace March 31, 2005
The whole world knows that she died on March 31, 2005. National and
global media were present at the scene for days, covering every detail.
Media were present again when I preached at her funeral mass. We know
when she died.
But her gravestone has become a pulpit for the euthanasia movement.
Those who killed her are now using her grave as a platform for their
twisted ideology. What they are trying to say is that once her brain was
injured in 1990 and she was no longer functioning like most of us, she
wasn't one of us anymore. She "departed this earth."
This is actually a variation on an ancient heresy, which says that we
are really spirits inhabiting a body. Terri couldn't communicate
normally. So, her "spirit" must have left her. The body was just a shell
left behind. Those who believe she really "departed this earth" in 1990
can therefore pretend it was OK to kill her in 2005. After all, it
wasn't really her. She was already gone.
This is heresy, because Christianity teaches that we are a unity of body
and soul, not simply a soul "using" a body. The body matters. What we do
to the body, we do to the person.
Moreover, the gravestone inscription is a deep insult to all who are
disabled, and to all those who love and care for them. Should they be
considered already dead, too? Are we just wasting our time caring for
them? Euthanasia advocates would have us think so.
A recent news story about a disabled unborn child quoted one as saying,
"There's no human life there." Isn't that the same idea? They think the
baby has already "departed this earth," so they don't hesitate to abort
the body.
As I blessed Terri's grave, I also prayed that God's people would be
kept safe from this falsehood. And I recalled being in Terri's room the
day she died. I remembered her face, dehydrated from not having had a
drop of water in two weeks. I recalled seeing the flowers, inches away,
on her night table. They were immersed in water. And as I left the
grave, I gave a final glance to the vase of flowers that was standing by
the stone.
[Note: Personal notes of condolence for Terri's family can be forwarded
to
Terri@priestsforlife.org, and Fr. Frank will deliver them.]
Comments? Email us at mail@priestsforlife.org, Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten
Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515;
web: www.priestsforlife.org
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