Cardinal Martino, pro-lifers on Terri’s death

Washington D.C., Mar 30, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, said Thursday shortly before learning of the death of Terri Schiavo that to do nothing “during Terri’s last hours is to be an accomplice in her death.”

Speaking on Vatican Radio, Cardinal Martino explained that Terri’s was a case of someone being “condemned to die,” and given the doubts about her condition, “it is a murder which one cannot take part in without become an accomplice.”

“The anguish and agony of Terri Schiavo, beyond the possibility that she has become a political instrument, requires that mankind take action to prevent this imminent tragedy from taking place,” he said.

Cardinal Martino said the withdrawal of food and water is “an unjust condemnation to death of an innocent person by one the most inhumane and cruel forms that exist, that of of starvation.”

Similar reaction followed to Terri’s death from the pro-life front.

“The Schiavo case brought to the surface many questions that should long ago have been addressed,“, said William Donohue, president of the Catholic League. 

“In this regard, the teachings of the Catholic Church on end-of-life issues is a model of clarity compared to that of all the other religions.  It’s time that all world religions more forthrightly tackled these issues before it’s too late.  And by that I mean before the secular bioethicists rule the day, for many of them don’t know the difference between a hamster and a human,” he added.

"The court has washed its hands of the responsibility for this innocent woman's life. It is undeniable that we are quickly slipping into a culture of death. Terri Schiavo was very much fighting for her life and today, we are deeply saddened at that loss," said Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council.

"This is a tragic and unfortunate event that should awaken Americans to the problems in our court system. As many in the nation mourn the passing of Terri Schiavo, we should remember that her death is a symptom of a greater problem: that the courts no longer respect human life," he added.

"Let us long remember Terri as a brave soldier who fought valiantly in her personal battle for life and has become a tragic causality in our modern day culture war. But her death is not in vain. Her death has purchased the beginnings of a social, moral awakening on the issue of the Sanctity of Life. March 31, 2005 must go down in history and our battle cry must be REMEMBER TERRI SCHAIVO!" wrote Troy Newman , President of Operation Rescue.