Summing Both Sides Up in One Sentence @ AMERICAN DIGEST

March 27, 2004

Summing Both Sides Up in One Sentence

Ms. Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were unable to convince Michael Schiavo to allow his wife the sacrament of communion during the holiest day of the Catholic year. -- WSJ.com - Parents' Legal Battle Ends In Terri Schiavo Case

UPDATE:

...[T]he woman's parents claimed one Easter victory: Schiavo's husband, Michael, allowed her to receive communion wine.

As her brother, sister and brother-in-law watched, the Rev. Thaddeus Malanowski held Terri's right hand as he and the hospice priest, the Rev. Joseph Braun, placed the droplet on her tongue. Malanowski also anointed her with holy oil, offered a blessing and absolved her of sin.

"She received the blood of Christ," said Malanowski, adding he could not give her a fleck of communion bread because her tongue was too dry.
-- ABC News: Schiavo Receives Last Rites, Communion

Devoto, in the comments here, notes that this is part and parcel of the husband's pattern: "I recall that after the tube was taken out, Michael took her parents off the list of authorized visitors, only to change his mind a few hours later - much the same as seems to have happened here, the ugly decision followed by a turnaround."

In all this, my mind keeps returning to the chilling quote from Eliot's Four Quartets:

The whole earth is our hospital
Endowed by the ruined millionaire,
Wherein, if we do well, we shall
Die of the absolute paternal care
That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.

"... but prevents us everywhere." I am aware of the large and somewhat sensible faction that rails against the intrusion of Congress into this affair, citing the 'Oh-My-God! It's melting, melting!' of the Republican Party as the price paid for the Party's leap into "Really Big Government." Will the Republican Party crack up, crash and burn? It seems to me to be a rather hysterical conclusion. There are times one needs "Really Big Government" if one hopes to check and balance "A Really Big Judiciary " determined to give us all "the absolute paternal care."

Posted by Vanderleun at March 27, 2004 1:12 PM

If Michael Schiavo isn't a complete a**hole, he's doing a damn fine job imitating one.

This is almost as bad as when the Left tried to make Rodney King into a noble hero just because he wasn't on the Other Side.

Anyway, have as happy an Easter as you can in these sad and frightning times.

I'm off to Mom's for a family dinner.

Posted by: Mumblix Grumph at March 27, 2005 3:09 PM

Gerard--

Once again, thank you for your posts this week-- including this morning's poem. A blessed Easter to you and your family.

I hope Terri's family-- and her virtual extended family-- know that Michael Schiavo is not God. He may have the power to prevent a human servant of God from bringing Holy Communion to a dying Christian, but he does not have the power to keep the Risen Lord from visiting Terri in His own way.

Posted by: Connecticut Yankee at March 27, 2005 3:22 PM

This could be why. As I posted this morning:

But if Terri is given communion, she will have the opportunity to swallow, an opportunity she has not had since the feeding tube was initially implanted, long ago.

* * *

So if, given the chance, Terri can swallow, it will be evidence, perhaps even conclusive evidence, that she can sustain herself; that she can eat food in liquid form and drink water, and that she should - no must - be given that opportunity to do so.

ABC reported that Terri was given communion, or at least the wine.

Stay tuned.

Posted by: Everyman at March 27, 2005 3:49 PM

Comments:

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I recall that after the tube was taken out, Michael took her parents off the list of authorized visitors, only to change his mind a few hours later - much the same as seems to have happened here, the ugly decision followed by a turnaround.

Posted by: jaed at March 27, 2005 9:27 PM

Such modesty, Mr. Sucher. Racing around the internet to tell bloggers to shut up because you don't think they know enough.

Question for you? Do you feel the same way about journalists? Should they shut anytime their knowledge is incomplete?

That's going to be one skinny newspaper.

Posted by: craig henry at March 28, 2005 7:29 AM

I'm actually not sure what the point of an autopsy is supposed to be.

It will presumably show that she has massive damage to her cerebral cortex, but we already know that and it's not a point of contention. Presumably there will be additional damage due to the manner in which she's being put to death, but that is not news either.

Posted by: jaed at March 29, 2005 12:11 PM