- Newsletters -

Apostles for Life News
May - June 2005

A lay initiative within the Catholic Diocese of Lismore to inspire and support pro-life prayer, education and action in conformity with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Published bi-monthly as a means of communication between those who attend our meetings and those who are unable to attend. Distributed free to anyone who works and prays that the Gospel of Life will flourish in our Diocese. Donations are welcome. Meetings 11am on 3rd Saturday of the month in the Cathedral in prayer support of all pro-life activists in the Lismore Diocese, followed by informative discussion/video & cuppa at the Parish Centre.

Editor: Angela Martello, apost5@apostlesforlifesite.com
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In this edition: In memory of our chief shepherd -Joannes Paulus II; Anne Lastman is coming; Theresa Schiavo - Another victim of “choice”; Letter; Pope encourages scientists to define "brain death";  Divine Mercy Novena for Benedict XVI.  

IN MEMORY OF OUR CHIEF SHEPHERD
JOANNES PAULUS II 1920-2005 

A Very Personal Tribute by Anne Lastman from her most recent edition of Broken Branches - A newsletter of Victims of Abortion(Issue no 45 —April - May 2005) 

……………Perhaps it may be difficult to see why someone in the post-abortion area would be so grieved at the passing of Pope John Paul II. It is because of a paragraph he wrote in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae 1995. It was the reading of this passage which spoke directly to my heart: 

“I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful end even shattering decision. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will be able to ask forgiveness from your child who is now living in the Lord. With the friendly and expert advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life” (EV 99)

It was the reading of this encyclical and this message, and other providential people who came into my life, which contributed to my own personal healing. The reading of this passage helped me to see, and finally believe, that someone understood the pain and sorrow involved in an abortion. It helped me to see that God still loved me and my two aborted children loved me. It helped me to be able to openly grieve for them and then proceed to do something about it.

It was this passage and the lines “by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of life”. That helped shape the road I took. I took the Holy Father at his word and his invitation to care for those most in need of someone to be close to them. I understood this to mean that if the Lord heals, He heals not only for me individually, but also that His Glory may be manifest to others and in others.

The words “your child is living in the Lord” were such a healing balm because I had been told emphatically that no matter what I did, I could and would never see my children again. When the Holy Father wrote those words he lifted from my heart the heaviest of loads. I have said this many times in speaking engagements and to individuals - that no mother would feel that she would ever merit, or even aspire to, heaven if the child/ren she aborted were not permitted to enter heaven and be reunited with their mother. The words “living in the Lord” eased the hurt as this opened the door to a future encounter with them. My own work and charism is based on this, is based on forgiveness and mercy of God, and the forgiveness and love of the children; and the future meeting with the aborted children.

Within a year of reading this encyclical and making this section my own, together with other providential happenings, I slowly began to be involved in pro-life work, and especially post-abortive pro-life work. Indeed I took the Holy Father at his words to care for those who need it, and to my way of thinking those who most needed comfort and care were those like me, whose spirit had shrivelled and had almost died but was revived through the Lord Himself coming to meet me.

I have much to thank the Holy Father for, and I do. Today I believe my children are “living in the Lord” and that I will see them. And yes I do extend my love and care for others like me whose spirit is also shrivelled, and I hope I can bring to them the same words of life as were given to me.
He came to speak for the child in the womb when others railed against it….This extraordinary human person witnessed to the holiness which is life, and at the end he witnessed to the sanctity of life even in a disabled condition and in frailty. He defended life when the world said it had reached its use-by date and was of no value…..The Holy Father bent and doubled with infirmities showed that life is valuable.

Thank you, my much loved Holy Father; may you now “live in the Lord” and I hope you meet my children Miriam and Joseph, and I also hope you meet the hundreds of children of all the mothers that I have helped because of your words.
 

Theresa Schiavo - Another victim of “choice”

Fr Frank Pavone April 4, 2005 www.priestsforlife.org

What a week we have just been through! United in faith and in the pro-life cause, we are grieving the murder of Terri Schiavo. Likewise, we are mourning the passing of one of the greatest voices for the right to life, Pope John Paul II. I want to share a few reflections on what has happened in these days.

Last week was the "Octave of Easter," a special 8-day period which is all considered by the Church as "Easter Day," the Day of the Resurrection! Death, in all its forms, has been conquered by Christ! We are called to rejoice in that victory and keep it uppermost in our minds as we battle the Culture of Death. Isn't it amazing that both Terri and Pope John Paul II died so close to each other, and within the Easter celebration! Is God speaking to us? He certainly is!

I was at Terri Schiavo's bedside during the last 14 hours of her earthly life, right up until five minutes before her death. During that time with Terri, joined by her brother and sister, I expressed your care, concern, and prayers. I told Terri over and over that she had many friends around the country (world ed.), many people who were praying for her and were on her side. I had told her the same things during my visits to her in the months before her feeding tube was removed, and am convinced she understood.

Terri's brother, sister, and I read Scripture, prayed the Rosary, and had times of silence during Terri's last hours. We held her hand and stroked her head. During all that time, there was always at least one police officer in the room, watching our every move, and several more immediately outside the door. During those hours, one of the things I did was to chant, in Latin, some of the most ancient hymns of the Church. One of the chants I used was the "Victimae Paschali Laudis," which is the ancient proclamation of the resurrection of Christ. There, as I saw before my eyes the deadly work of the Culture of Death, I proclaimed the victory of life: "Life and death were locked in a wondrous struggle, Life's Captain died, but now lives and reigns forevermore!"

As you may have also seen, those who killed Terri were quite angry that I said so. The night before she died, I said to the media that her estranged husband Michael, his attorney Mr. Felos, and Judge Greer were murderers. I also pointed out, that night and the next morning, that contrary to Felos' description, Terri's death was not at all peaceful and beautiful. It was, on the contrary, quite horrifying. She was dehydrating to death, and looked it. Her face had an expression of dread and sorrow. In my 16 years as a priest, I never saw anything like it before.

After I said these things, Mr. Felos and others in sympathy with him began attacking me in the press and before the cameras. Some news outlets began making a story out of their attacks and said I was "fanning the flames" of enmity and hatred.

Actually, there's a simple reason why they are so angry with me. They had hoped that they could present Terri's death as a merciful and gentle act. My words took the veil of euphemism away, calling this a killing, and giving eyewitness testimony to the fact that it was anything but gentle. Mr. Felos is a euthanasia advocate, and like all such advocates, he needs to manipulate the language, to sell death in an attractive package. Here he and his friends had a great opportunity to do so. But a priest, seeing their work close-up and then telling the world about it, just didn't fit into their plans.
One of the attacks they made was that a "spiritual person" like a priest should be speaking words of compassion and understanding, instead of venom. But compassion demands truth. A priest is also a prophet, and if he cannot cry out against evil, then he cannot bring about reconciliation. If there is going to be any healing between these families or in this nation, it must start with repentance on the part of those who murdered Terri and now try to cover it up with flowery language.

Another aspect of the Terri Schiavo tragedy is that many people misunderstand its cause and therefore its solution. They think the problem was that Terri did not leave any written instructions about whether she wanted to be kept alive. In order to avoid any such problem in their own lives, they are now told that they have to draw up a "living will." This is both erroneous and dangerous.

Terri's case is not about the withdrawal of life-saving medical treatment, but rather about the killing of a healthy person whose life some regarded as worthless. Terri was not dying, was not on life support, and did not have any terminal illness. Because some thought she would not want to live with her disability, they insisted on introducing the cause of death, namely, dehydration.
So what good is a living will supposed to accomplish, aside from saying, "Please don't argue about killing me, just kill me?"

The danger in our culture is not that we will be over-treated, but rather that we will be under-treated. We already have the right to refuse medical treatment. What we run the risk of losing is the right to receive the most basic humane care - like food and water - in the event we have a disability.

Our culture also promotes the idea that as long as we say we want to die, we have the right to do so. But we have a basic obligation to preserve our own life. A person who leaves clear instructions that they don't want to be fed is breaking the moral law by essentially requesting suicide.

If you want to make plans for your future health care, do not do so by trying to predict the future. The reason you cannot indicate today what medical treatments you do or don't want tomorrow is that you don't know what medical condition you will have tomorrow, nor what treatments will be available to give you the help you need. Living wills try to predict the future, and people can argue over the interpretation of a piece of paper just as much as they argue about what they claim someone said in private.

The better solution is to appoint a health care proxy, who is authorized to speak for you if you are in a condition in which you cannot speak for yourself. This should be a person who knows your beliefs and values, and with whom you discuss these matters in detail. In case you cannot speak for yourself, your proxy can ask all the necessary questions of your doctors and clergy, and make an assessment when all the details of your condition and medical needs are actually known. That's much safer than predicting the future. Appointing a health care proxy in a way that safeguards your right to life is easy. In fact, the National Right to Life Committee has designed a "Will to Live," which can be found at www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/willtolive/index.html and which I recommend highly. (If you can’t access internet just ask and I will send by post – editor)

Today, my friends, I will fly back to Florida to be with Terri's Mom, Dad, and siblings and to preach at her funeral Mass. I will again convey to them your best wishes, and if you want to relay a personal message to them, you can send it to terri@priestsforlife.org and I will pass it along personally. Meanwhile, we commend both Terri and the Pope to the Lord, and are reminded of the equal value of every life, no matter how prominent or obscure, healthy or sick.

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Dear Angela:

Here in Vita Umana Internazionale Roma (HLI Rome) we have been working hard to save the life of Terri Schiavo.

Thank you very much for your prayers.

In Domino
Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula

 (Nadir, Miriam and I had the privilege of meeting Msgr Barreiro at the HLI office in the shadow of St Peter’s three years ago)

 Pope encourages scientists to define "brain death" http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=35044

Vatican, Feb. 03 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II has given his encouragement to organ transplants, while calling for more precise means of establishing that the donor is dead before vital organs are removed.

In a letter to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, made public by the Vatican on February 3, the Pontiff says that the Church has consistently supported "the practice of transplanting organs from deceased persons." The Church has also "encouraged the free donation of organs," he adds, while emphasizing "the ethical conditions for such donation."

The efforts of a task force set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which is studying the question of when death can be medically established, are very important, the Holy Father writes. Organ transplants, he continues, are acceptable only when they are conducted in a manner "so as to guarantee respect for life and for the human person."

Catholic physicians and moralists have been engaged in a sharp debate in recent years over the question of determining the death of a potential organ donor. If vital organs are removed before death has occurred, moralists point out, then the doctors performing the transplant are causing the death of the donor. On the other hand, organs are ordinarily suitable for donation only if they are removed from a donor whose body is still functioning. For this reason, some Catholic moralists have argued that the transplant of vital organs can never be justified.

The key to the debate is the definition of "brain death"-- a term for which there is no universally accepted definition. Pope John Paul, in his message to the Pontifical Academy, observes that from the Christian perspective, "the moment of death for each person consists in the definitive loss of the constitutive unity of body and spirit." However, the Pope concedes that this definition does not provide an adequate response to medical questions about "brain death."

The Pope cites his predecessor, Pope Pius XII, who said that "it is for the doctor to give a clear and precise definition of death and of the moment of death." John Paul salutes the scientists who are now studying this question for the Pontifical Academy.

The Pope mentions that in considering the topic, the scientists can count on the support of Vatican officials, "especially the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."