[lugsoul]

“One cannot impose on anyone the obligation to have recourse to a technique which is already in use but which carries a risk or is burdensome. Such a refusal is not the equivalent of suicide; on the contrary it should be considered as an acceptance of the human condition, or a wish to avoid the application of a medical procedure disproportionate to the results that can be expected, or a desire not to impose excessive expense on the family or the community.”

That's what I'm referring to, not yours.

The former Pope decided, for himself, that a feeding tube did not meet this definition. The Church has not done so.

[B Knotts]

Which former pope?

You are aware, I'm sure, that Pope John Paul II was pope in 1980...aren't you?

[B Knotts]

OK...I misunderstood your last paragraph.

Anyhow, while it's true that the pope's teaching on this was not infallibly declared, that does not mean that Catholics can just ignore it. It is still binding to a large degree. And, given the Pope's position as head of the Magisterium, that means the Church does indeed teach what he said.

It's just that, in theory, another Pope could alter it.