Posted on 06/12/2019 4:45:26 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
(Rome) Pope Francis found clear words against suicide and euthanasia. He spoke of a "defeat for all". The papal statement was made in response to the death of 17-year-old Dutch girl, Noa Pothoven. A message that is shocking indeed.
Pothoven was euthanized last Sunday because of "depression.” So it was reported yesterday by numerous media. The killing was done in a so-called "Lebensendeklinik" [End of Life Clinic]. By this euphemism is meant not a healing facility, as the name implies, but a killing facility.
Noa Pothoven was sexually molested at the age of 11 and 12, and was raped by two Muslims at the age of 14. The rape caused post-traumatic stress, anorexia and depression. Last Sunday, on the basis of the Dutch euthanasia law and with the permission of the parents, the killing of the girl took place.
However, the news of Noa's euthanasia turned out to be an inaccuracy. [She died in her parents' home, who permitted her to starve to death.] It is not wrong, however, that the girl is actually dead, in no less dire circumstances.
Therefore, Pope Francis took a stand not only against euthanasia but also against suicide.
The news is so incredible that it is hard to believe. Instead of helping their daughter, the parents agreed to have their child killed. But even the ultraliberal euthanasia law of the Netherlands does not allow euthanasia because of depression.
Because she was denied euthanasia, Noa Pothoven, according to the current reconstruction of events, starved and died of thirst by refusing food and fluid intake. And at home and with the consent of her parents.
Noa herself had announced her death on the social networks, including on Instagram. She herself complained there that she was denied euthanasia, "because I am too young." She would have had to undergo psychiatric or psychological therapy first. Only then could she have been killed at the age of 21, "when my brain is fully mature".
"I'm devastated because I can not wait that long," said the 17-year-old.
The cruel suicide is likely to trigger a new discussion on the further expansion of the euthanasia law in order to "spare" those who "wish" such a dreadful death.
Today, Pope Francis responded with a tweet to the dire news of Pothov's death:
"Euthanasia and assisted suicide are a defeat for all. The answer to which we are called is never to let the sufferer down, never to resign, but to accept with care and love, to give hope."
Tweet by Pope Francis.
On the German Twitter account of the Pope, the majority of reactions were negative. The Christian understanding of suffering and death is barely or not at all present in many. However, in the face of pain and death, the delusion of unlimited self-determination reaches its limits anyway.
Some German reactions of incomprehension to the position of the Pope:
The Kroisos Newsleaf writes:
"One wonders, on which planet this #Franziskus lives ... Go to a hospital, and look at some bodies - people are no longer - who vegetate uselessly under mad pain. To them, death is a true, only salvation. "
Thomas Martin wonders:
"Suffering for the sake of suffering?"
Lady [[[Luna Flausn]]] from the Schnuffel round:
"Does that really fall under self-flagellation?"
Nell Hitchens #noAfD:
"Like Mother Teresa? No thank you."
Lukull:
"And if hope is only death?"
Photographer A. Lauer:
"Who are you that you try to impose your masochism on others?"
The Commentator answered with two tweets:
"Every animal may be euthanized so that it does not have to suffer! And man as a thinking, sensitive being must suffer and vegetate? This is neither Christian nor human! Relatives who think otherwise are selfish & unfeeling. "
"Old man, you are a senile, senile old man and have no idea of real life!"
Colonel Guillaume:
"Comrade Holy Father, are not you of the opinion that every human being must decide this question for themselves? So why are you denying people the opportunity? "
Nizo:
"And who cares about all abuse victims of the church Franzi?"
Sandra Müller:
"Only everyone can make that decision for themselves, their decision must be respected by others. No ifs and buts."
There were other dumbfound reactions published on the pope’s other accounts.
5novembre 2020 writes:
"Jesus decided of his own free will to kill himself."
Gabriele writes:
"Noa needed the only possible medicine: Jesus. The fact that she did not get this medicine is the fault of the world! "
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG
As the first comment at the linked site said, "What? The parents are not even arrested as accessories to the crime? In most countries starving a child is child abuse. And government "Protective Service" would take the child away from the parents, and take them to court."
Now, I guess, when your deeply disturbed kid says "I'm gonna hold my breath until I turn blue," parents are supposed to say "Fine. Your choice. Here's a plastic bag you can put over your head. Here, I'll fasten it at the neck."
Comments?
Only a week too late to save Pothoven, and never said a word against Ireland’s baby-killing referendum.
Yes, Mrs. Don-o, you stated it well. And the blame goes beyond the parents and the gov to all the bystanders who allowed this outrage.
When people point to Scandinavia (Holland being nearby) as the end all be all model of an ideal society, I point out the Euthanasia rates and Abortion of those with disabilities. :(
The Nazi spirit is alive and well in Northern Europe. It’s horrific... And it’s proof that a society’s physical quality of life does not automatically equate to spiritual respect for it.
sorry Scandinavian countries* plural.
This is something I had not heard before. If true, it only adds to the symbolic force of this whole story.
bttt
the Pope and Holy Mother Church.
O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
O Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers.
O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.
Saint Joseph, Patron of departed souls – pray for me. (Mention your intention) Amen.
7
But I have been praying --- as many have -- for Pope Francis to be a better teacher of the truth --- and so when he does the right thing, it IS an answer to prayer.
It is a slighting of the Holy Spirit, I think, when we do not notice small steps in the right direction.
Remember the false prophet in the OT, Balaam, who was recruited by one of Israel's enemies to prophesy curses against Israel. The Lord prevented him, and made blessings come out of his mouth. It can happen.
Once is an accident.
Twice is coincidence.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, please continue to pour forth your grace on Jorge/Francis that he may be the fearless advocate for You, Your Truth, and Your Gospel that his office calls him to be.
I believe in miracles.
The story is wrong. On several levels.
The facts are that this young woman, Noa Pothoven, died at her own family home from extreme anorexia brought on by self-inflicted malnutrition in a failed suicide attempt.
She tried to starve herself to death back in 2018 out of the control of her family, but she was rescued at very near the point of death after she’d done unrecoverable damage to her vital organs. Doctors had actually been trying to save her life against her will, force-feeding her and using medical systems to supplant her non-functioning organs. All they managed to accomplish was restoring some of her weight.
She wasn’t euthanized by assisted suicide under the 2001 Dutch euthanasia law, or inside any kind of facility for this purpose as was initially reported and later wildly embellished as the story went round the world.
Beautiful prayer.
Where has this been reported?
YES it can,
because with God,
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
I watch closely for the Signal Graces in things both
great and small because I am often surprised and
delighted by His Kindness, Mercy and Love.
Thank you for all of your thoughtful posts
7
I do not let the parents off the hook here. Naomi O’Leary of Politico Europe, reported that Pothoven’s parents and doctors “agreed not to force feed her” when she refused to eat or drink. So, tubes removed.
The girl was seriously mentally ill and yet in the end, the parents allowed her to refuse both assisted nutrition and electro-convulsive. Bear in mind that ECT is NOT the horror from the 1950's which some imagine, but an often successful treatment for severe depression.
The parents' statement:
What Is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?
ECT is among the safest and most effective treatments available for depression.
With ECT, electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain.
ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It's also very effective for patients who suffer from mania or a number of other mental illnesses.
ECT is generally used when severe depression is unresponsive to other forms of therapy. Or it might be used when patients pose a severe threat to themselves or others and it is too dangerous to wait until medications take effect.
Although ECT has been used since the 1940s and 1950s, it remains misunderstood by the general public.
Many of the procedure's risks and side effects are related to the misuse of equipment, incorrect administration, or improperly trained staff. It is also a misconception that ECT is used as a "quick fix" in place of long-term therapy or hospitalization. Nor is it correct to believe that the patient is painfully "shocked" out of the depression. Unfavorable news reports and media coverage have contributed to the controversy surrounding this treatment.
I understand your concern, but the girl was intubated and had been in life support for multiple organ failure since last Fall. What she did initially was outside of her parents control. She finally died right in their living room in a hospital bed connected to machines.
Pretty sad and awful thing to learn, but I’m unsure of the point in trying to keep this story alive.
Strange to have to pray for the conversion of the Pope
It's not just this one girl, Noa Pothoven. Adolescent female anorexia is rampant in the Netherlands, and one in 10 dies of it. One in ten.
Her mother had one time thought she would be best treated at a clinic that specializes in youth psychiatry, "where she can stay and where all her physical and mental problems are addressed," she told the newspaper. But no places were available.
"That's crazy," Pothoven told the Dutch paper. "If you have a serious heart disease, you can undergo surgery within a few weeks. But if you become acutely mentally ill, then they say casually, 'Unfortunately, we are full. Just go on the waiting list.' And you have to know that one in 10 anorexia patients in the Netherlands dies from the consequences of the eating disorder."
And now Noa's case is a being used as a public argument for faster, nicer euthanasia, to spare kids the torture of starvation/dehydration. That's the present, pro-euthanasia spin.
Why keep the story alive?
(1) Because I wanted to report that the hapless Peronist, Francis, finally said the right thing, and
(2) Noa is dead, but now she's the "Savita Halappanavar" for active euthanasia, As Faulkner said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past."
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