Posted on 05/18/2005 6:01:54 AM PDT by NYer
Terri Schiavo's parents on Wednesday thanked Pope Benedict for Vatican backing in their failed campaign to keep their brain-damaged daughter alive and gave him a framed picture of her.
"I can't even tell you how I felt," Terri's mother, Mary, told Reuters in an interview with other family members in St. Peter's Square just minutes after meeting the Pope.
"When I gave it to him he said: 'I know, I know about Terri' to me. I couldn't imagine the Holy Father saying to me 'I know, I know about Terri'. It was the most I could have ever, ever hoped for," she said.
Bob and Mary Schindler, their son Bobby and their daughter Suzanne, were in the front row at Benedict's general audience.
"When he said 'Terri' he held his hand to his heart like he was very sad," her father added.
Schiavo died on March 31 in Florida after a U.S. state court ordered the feeding tube, which sustained her for 15 years, removed at the request of her husband who said it was what she would have wanted.
Pope John Paul II, who died two days after Schiavo, had declared some life-extending treatments a moral duty for Roman Catholics.
Schiavo's case was followed around the world and sparked outrage at the Vatican, which compared the court to an executioner who "arbitrarily brought forward" the date of her death.
"As Roman Catholics, to see the Pope is the ultimate. We are trying to carry Terri's legacy on," her father said.
Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, said the family was moved close to tears when they saw sick people being wheeled before the Pope to be blessed by him at the end of the audience.
"We could have done that. Terri is very similar to those people ... it was just sad that she couldn't be here with us to share it," he said.
Throughout the Terri Schiavo case, the Catholic Church defended the family's efforts to defend life, which the Church teaches starts at the moment of conception and ends at the moment of natural death.
"I think we are seeing a real attack on the culture of life and I think Terri's case exposed just how powerful and dangerous this 'death group' is and what's happening across America," her brother said.
"Our family has to continue to fight and speak out and try to expose just what this 'death group' is doing. I think having the Vatican showing their support really illuminates what is happening in America," he said.
Terri Schiavo's sister Suzanne Vitadamo said: "We did this for Terri. We believe she is sitting with the pope up in heaven. I'm sure she is looking down on us and smiling."
In a way, yes. And while we're on it, where did I say there was anything wrong with profiting from it? I was merely pointing out that they were the first to do it.
Bahahaha!!! You really are a troll, aren't you? Just here to fan the flames. I've seen you do it on other threads.
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue
You might want to follow your own tagline's advice.
Maybe the Pope could ask Michael S. or his lawyer where Terri's ashes are.
The way the Schlinders have treated Michael, and the names he has been labeled with, i.e. murderer...I don't blame him for keeping her ashes from them. Nothing he does will ever redeem himself in their eyes. Why bother?
Or maybe he's doing them all a big favor. They'd only make a shrine out of her marker. Not healthy.
sw
Amen
Mike's a big, tough guy. He can take it.
You know this thing about her ashes is the same thing they've (Schindler's) done through out this whole case. Make an accusation and keep it up even though it's either been explained or refutiated. Michael still has the ashes. He has not decided what to do with them. He said when he does, he'll let them know. But that's not got enough, because nothing will ever be good enough for them. I don't blame him either. After all the things they've accused him of I'd only do what absolutely forced on my to do (courts).
I make comments about the subject and all I get in return is personal attacks. Since you find it so amusing, show me where I said there was something wrong with profiting from it?
So you really need to push that knife in deeply, Hildy, must be hard for you to get enough. Then again, with maybe one or two most excellent twists of that sharp blade you wield so deftly, and you will be finally satisfied. Forever. That would be a relief for many of us.`
I think the truth is a variation of what you just said.
Good GAWD lady, they are CATHOLICS, don't you think that as such, meeting the Pope would matter more than any picture of the meeting that they could sell (or maybe, give away for free)?
What are you talking about? Why do you guys take criticism about this issue so personally? I've never seen anything like it in all my year's on FR.
Who said anything about "selling" pictures. I just wondered who paid for the trip. That's all.
There are reports that there was an understanding that Mr. Jackpot Winner would reimburse the Schindlers for the care of Terri that they administered before he saw a dime. An understanding that conveniently fell apart when he actually did get the dimes.
They have lots of donors. What, you jealous?
Donors? What do you mean, donors?
So you're saying that the Schindler's were retaliating because of money. Looks like we agree.
What, you jealous?
A fishy, belated story was bought by a death minded judge. All else was procedural wrangling that went nowhere. What was "proven" mattered not, what His Greerness believed to be a fact did matter. No court of appeal had power to touch that -- it's the way the system is built for better or for worse -- this time MARKEDLY for the worse.
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