The feeding tube saga is not over. The Pope has one now. Discuss.

[jswordy]

The Pope now is being fed through a nasal feeding tube. This has huge import, I think, and especially since the court will reconsider the...uh...existing case in the U.S. This juxtaposition of events must be excruciating for "right to life" Catholics, and although I disagree with their positions on these matters, my heart does go out to them.

[sniffa]

1. tubie the feeding tube is no Longer unempLoyed

[Bouncy Ball]

2. I'm not EVEN going to touch this one.

His case is totally different. He's in his 80s and probably nearing the natural end of his life and his brain hasn't liquified. Plus he has no spouse and parents fighting over him, and I'm assuming he HAS instructions written out about him.

And being where he is, I doubt the repukes have the jurisdiction to make him into a political football, but who knows, they've pulled off worse.

[jswordy]

4. My heart does go out to the RTL Catholics, who already are...

...praying for Schiavo by name in every Mass across the country, and who now must absorb this new development with their church's leader.

As anyone who has watched it knows, death is a messy business and there is little about it that is clear cut.

Sure, the two cases are very different. But the impact of the events on Catholics has to be hard.

[meegbear]

3. Falwell too!

It's VOGUE!

[jswordy]

7. So yer saying it is a TREND? THEN I WANT ONE! LOL!

Soon, we will be hearing TV ads for them! "Ask your doctor about new ForceFeeders."

[meegbear]

8. Versace, Giogio, Halstead ...

dying never looked so good!

[mcscajun]

5. Must we?

I don't care. The Pope's going to be strung along until he expires naturally. There's nothing to debate, really.

[PaganPreacher]

6. I don't think the JPII's case is dependent on TS's.

1. The Pope is still conscious, and can still speak. He can clearly comminicate his wishes. If he resigns the Throne of Peter, the cardinals will elect his replacement. If he does not (which appears to be the case, given recent statements), he will be Pope until he dies.

If JPII has a massive stroke tomorrow, and spends 10 years in PVS with the tube in place, the Curia will run the Vatican in his name until he dies.

2. The Pope's condition will never be subject to court review or mandate. The Vatican is a sovereign nation, and it's court is subordinate to the papacy and the Curia. The only law in Vatican City is the Canon of the Catholic Church, and they do not use foreign decisions (especially those with which the Church disagrees) as the basis for their decisions.

It is strange and ironic, at least to me, that Jerry Falwell and Il Papa are critically ill, and receiving some form of "life support", at the same time as Terri Schiavo.

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[jswordy]

9. Sure, neither is dependent on the other. The "import" I spoke of...

...has to do with its effect on the RTL community. I never even thought of Falwell, which adds a deeper dimension across denominations. This could get very interesting. Personally, I do not believe the death of TS will end the furious energy gathered around this issue, which next is likley to be expended in the legislative and legal communities. The continuance of tube feeding in two leaders of the RTL movement may help continue to sustain it. Bills are already being introduced or moving in state legislatures restricting the removal of tubes unless expressly directed in a binding and legal living will that confers a durable power of attorney to another decision-maker.

[PaganPreacher]

10. I'm with ya!

I am afraid that the TS mess will only get worse.

I shudder to think about badly written laws that take decision making away from spouses. So much for the "sanctity of marriage", eh?

Falwell is in a ventilator right now, which means that he can't talk. Maybe we should thank his god for small favors.

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[jswordy]

11. Yer sig reminds me of a wise Lakota I know who says

"The white man's religion tells him to forgive and forget. But if you forget, then you never learn. I follow our way: I forgive...but I never forget."

[PaganPreacher]

12. Those are wise words. Thank you.

I believe that my capacity to forgive is an important part of my humanity, but I am not required to forgive someone who does not "repent and repair."

Because I am obliged to defend myself, my beliefs, my family, and those who look to me for protection, I can never "turn the other cheek." Learning that was an important part of my journey from Christianity into principled Primal Paganism.

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.