Opening the Way for Infanticide Down Under?

A father in New Zealand was acquitted today of charges that he had murdered his brain-damaged daughter.

Although he admitted to smothering "her face with his hand until she stopped breathing", he was cleared of all charges. The jury deliberated for all of 47 minutes.

The incident occurred on the day the father and mother were told by doctors their baby had "the most survivable profound brain dysfunction possible".

The head of the Commissioner for Children's office recognized how the jury could have come to such a verdict: "The jury could only reach the verdict it did because it wasn't able to value the life of the baby."

"Wasn't able to value the life of the baby". The inevitable result of failing to value the life of the human being in the womb is to whittle away at any sense of the value of human life outside the womb.

God have mercy on us.

Article on Fight for Terri's Life Out This Month

In this month's issue of Catholic World Report, my article "The Struggle to Save Terri" is the cover story!

In this article, I relate some of the personal experiences of the Schindler family, and my own experiences in helping them, in their efforts to save Terri's life. I describe the circumstances of how I came to be involved in her case, and my reactions to the inhuman treatment to which she is subjected, such as her husband Michael's denial of a priest's visits:

I had never heard of a patient being denied pastoral care before. I can't even imagine the kind of hardness of heart required to take such a position. Even condemned criminals are given access to clergy! But Terri Schiavo, who was guilty of no crime, was denied something we commonly provide to the most heinous of criminals. It seemed to me that Judge Greer had decided that Terri was so sub-human that she is could be denied even spiritual comfort and consolation. I wrote at the time:

"As a priest, I cannot imagine being in Msgr. Malanowski's position. I simply could not stand for such interference with my ministry. I would be inclined to seek every means possible to disobey the order and visit Terri. An unjust law is no law at all. Similarly, a capricious, inhuman, unjust and gratuitous judge's order is no order at all.

There is a long standing tradition in the Church of defying Caesar when he trespasses beyond his rightful authority. There is a well-established tradition of resisting Caesar when he attempts to deprive the Church of her legitimate prerogatives. And so, I reiterate the suggestion I made a couple of weeks ago: It is time to consider civil disobedience."

It seemed to me that this deprivation of Terri's right to spiritual care was the final indignity. If this wasn't sufficient motivation to condemn Terri's treatment and mobilize opposition, nothing would be.

The article isn't available on line yet, but if you don't get Catholic World Report, now would be a good time to start!

Hooray For Me!

Sometime in the last week, my blog turned over the 200,000 mark on my hit counter!

Thanks for your faithful readership and support!

Where Have I Been?

I've received several e-mails from concerned readers in the last week or so, wondering where I've been. Have no fear! I've just been really busy with parish reponsibilities, and have had to devote some time to dealing with a couple of personal issues (nothing to be worried about). But, obviously, I'm back to blogging. Thanks to those who expressed their concern.