With the headline of this story "Jesuit bioethicist says Schiavo has right to die" you could have left off Jesuit and still know that a Jesuit was involved. You can always expect sources like Newsweek to go thelogian shopping to find one that disagrees with Church teaching. Unfortunately this is not a difficult task for them.
…The bishops of Florida themselves have addressed this issue of the papal statement. Right-to-lifers aren’t attacking this Jesuit priest, me; they’re now attacking all the bishops of Florida saying they are deviating from the pope. What the right-to-lifers want to say is the pope said you must always use artificial nutrition and fluids for patients in persistent vegetative state—and there’s no exception. The Florida bishops say that’s not what the church has taught and that’s surely not what this means.
Not surprisingly what he said is not accurate in any way of the position of the Florida Bishops. Their last statement directly used the Pope’s statement and they went on to say. We as pro-lifers might be less than enthused with Bishop "can’t we all just get along" Lynch statements, but the Florida Catholic Conference is totally in line with what the pope wrote.
Simply put, we are called to provide basic means of sustenance such as food and water unless they are doing more harm than good to the patient, or are useless because the patient’s death is imminent. As long as they effectively provide nourishment and help provide comfort, we should see them as part of what we owe to all who are helpless and in our care. In certain situations a patient may morally refuse medical treatment and such decisions may properly be seen as an expression of our hope of union with God in the life to come.
The Rev. John J. Paris goes on to say.
So you’re saying providing Schiavo with food and water is not morally obligatory?
For 400 years the Roman Catholic moral tradition has said that one is not obliged to use disproportionately burdensome measures to sustain life.
And in this case, you view this as disproportionately burdensome?
Fifteen years of maintaining a woman [on a feeding tube] I’d say is disproportionately burdensome, yes.
Listening to many Jesuits is also disproportionately burdensome. Disproportionately burdensome is defined where a burden outweighs whatever benefit they provide. So I think that fits for most bioethicists.
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Well, in time, we will see a new religious missionary order dedicated to re-converting the Jesuits back to Catholicism. Rather like St. Francis de Sales did with the Swiss and French Calvinists. Of course, we can expect that the first new converts will be severely persecuted for their faith. But that’s the price that must be paid when dealing with heretics, apostates, atheists and agnostics. Who knows, one day we may even see a Jesuit run university that is actually Catholic?
Ah yes, I was wondering when the Jesuits were going to chime in. They pretty much invented the new Bioethics at Georgetown. Its pretty good huh?
What makes yall think this guy speaks for all Jesuits? Newsweek found a Jesuit priest interested in bioethics who makes a judgment call that years on a feeding tube qualifies as burdensome. Now because he is a Jesuit, it�s open season to insinuate all Jesuits think this way or, even more ridiculous, that all Jesuits are �heretics, apostates, atheists and agnostics.� It makes about as much sense to say that Catholics are all Democrats because, well, so many of them are�
I know this issue gets everyone riled up (and I think a woman starving to death is worth getting riled up over) but it is never a good idea to vent anger towards an entire religious order because some of them are making statements counter to what you think is correct. Why don�t yall try being a little more grown up than that and offer something more constructive. Who knows? You might convert a heart or change a mind.
Christ�s Peace,
Jesuit John
Jesuit John,
Sure we know that there are good Jesuits, but unfortunately the majority of Jesuits in the public are not of that caliber. To list faithful Jesuits teaching students is a short list indeed. Just look at what happened to Campion College in San Francisco. Who gets exiled, dissenters? No it was Fr. Fessio instead. The blog credibility does maintain an honor role of Jesuits.
http://credibility.blogspot.com/
With all due respect, Fr.(Bro.?) John, I have to agree with Hilary and Hetman. There are few “real” Jesuits for us to look up to. We need the REAL Jesuits today so badly, but who will step up and lead? Trouble is, the good ones are shackled by what they perceive as true obedience and humility…yet I believe it is time for “obedience” to have a whole new concept: obedience at last to God’s rules (it IS a whole new society out there), and not to lazy and inept superiors. (my humble opinion, of course…)
Jesuit John,
Us Jesuit bashers are not really ignorant of the fact that there are some good Jesuits. In fact you will probably find that every one of us have the utmost admiration of the late Fr. John Hardon SJ.
Thank the Lord for Fr Mitch Pacwa 🙂
The Society of Jesus had been suppressed before… why not again?
So what even if she has a “right to die?” She doesn’t have a “duty to die.” And her so-called husband doesn’t have a “right” to kill her. The sad thing is peopole who long for the power to convenience kill close family who get in the way of their party plans will pretend that this is an exercise in protecting Terri Schiavo’s rights.
Stalin and Hitler protected people’s rights this way. Enlightened people viewed these acts as atrocities (here’s a hint for recognizing an atrocity: if mass graves result, you’ve got an excellent candidate for an atrocity.)
Most so-called Jesuit bashers that I have known (myself included) are people who dearly love St. Ignatius and the Jesuit martyrs and the few “real” Jesuits we’ve been able to come across in our lives. But I’ve known many more Jesuits who’ve told me things that would make the martyrs weep. I agree with Michelle, we need real Jesuits, probably more now than in any time since the reformation.
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