Thank you, Bishop, for your comments! As many of you on here know, I have a disabled son who recently underwent some pretty extensive leg surgery late last month. You can see Andrew at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/mn/andrewpirk . Anyway, I vividly remember attending one of Andy's classmates' funerals about 3 years ago. This poor little guy just passed away in his sleep. I remember the priest at the wake making his little sermon, and how offended I personally was when this idiot said, "Phillip had no place in this world. He couldn't pro-create, work, etc..." I am also of the Catholic faith, and I remember thinking what a hypocrit that priest was by saying something like that. There is a purpose for every life on this planet, in this universe. People of faith ( no matter what faith it is ) preach about unconditional love, etc... It's nice to know that some, like the Oregon Bishop, really do know what unconditional love is, and that they do respect life, regardless of what level of life it is. I know now-a-days, the Ten Commandments don't mean alot to everyone out there, but to those who they do mean something to, "Thou shalt not kill" is the one that always comes to mind for me personally, although I do honestly respect all of the commandments. We don't even hunt around here, folks! My son is doing fine, by the way - still having some pain, but for the most part, is recovering very nicely - thanks to all of your prayers, etc!!! While my son may not grow up to become the next President of the United States, he sure is making his contributions to the medical world, not to mention, he keeps a whole boat full of social workers, case workers, special ed teachers, therapists, etc... employed. That's what I mean about: all life has a purpose in this world. And, I also believe that all souls choose their assignments prior to coming to be born on this earth. We all eventually figure out what we are here for, or what we are here to do. It really scares me to think about what this world could end up to be like if everyone had such disregard for life like Mr. Schiavo has. It bothers me to think that he just pulled the plug on his parents, too.
I agree with your comments on the priest, especially, since if he is a priest in good standing, he is supposed to be celibate and hence cannot procreate either. Further, who is to say that a religious person, or a lay person who is suffering and praying is not doing a greater 'work' than a person earning a salary. What an evil way of portraying a person's life. how offensive to the parents!
Sorry, that last reply was to you. ... Andrew's parent.