In today’s culture it is considered loving for families to end the lives of their loved ones instead of allowing them to suffer and thus to suffer with them. We kill the unborn instead of giving birth to a disabled child, we starve and dehydrate the severely handicapped who are unable to communicate with us, and we hasten the death … Read More
Love and Suffering
The other day I quoted from Pope Benedict’s encyclical, Spe Salvi, on self renunciation and the sacrifice that must be made for love: to accept the other who suffers means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, … Read More
Women Denied the Right to Kill Their Disabled Pre-Borns
News out of Australia: Pregnant women carrying a foetus with an abnormality are being denied abortions even when the defect is grounds for “non-treatment” after the baby is born, a leading obstetrician has warned… Most parents opt to abort if a severe abnormality is found in a test, but Prof de Crespigny says access to the tests and termination varies … Read More
Dr. Death Delivers His Speech at Florida
It was supposed to be in October, but last night Dr. Jack Kevorkian delivered his $50,000 speech to a crowd of roughly 4,900 at the University of Florida basketball arena. This is truly disappointing to me as a life long Gator fan. He was not allowed to discuss euthanasia in detail, but he sure made the most of what he … Read More
Eight Years!
Today is the eighth anniversary of the accident which caused my injury. There is not a lot to be said that I haven’t said already. I share this “feast day” with the great 16th century mystic, St. John of the Cross. This writing from a spiritual Canticle of his sums up what I have learned over the course of the … Read More
Hope in the Midst of Suffering
In the UK: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has been asked to define what constitutes a ‘serious handicap’ for which abortions after 24 weeks are allowed. Here we go again, letting doctors arbitrarily decide which life is less valuable than others. This is in response to some women using the “disability” excuse to abort children with cleft lips … Read More
Love the Suffering
My post yesterday, and further reflection on the movie Bella, got me thinking about the importance of loving those who are suffering. How do we know the love of Christ on earth except through the love of others? Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You … Read More
The Value of Human Suffering
A culture that respects human life must have a joyful acceptance of human suffering. This is something I learned early in life and a message I hope to communicate to others by accepting my own crosses in life. As we saw with the starvation of Terri Schiavo and many cases like hers, our society has a great disdain for human … Read More
Better Off Dead?
C Health has two columns debating the topic of Euthanasia. In opposition is broadcaster and columnist Michael Coren and in support is Dr. Gifford-Jones. The main focus of Do They Deserve to be Born is on a set of twins, now six months old, conjoined at the head (note: these are not the twins pictured on your right, I couldn’t … Read More
Dedication
The following video is a breath of fresh air in light of the recent news stories about parents who want to screen their embryos in order to weed out those who might be born with some disability, disease or other undesirable trait. It beautifully shows one couple’s dedication to preserving the short life of their son and the great joy … Read More