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In recent days, the case of a Florida woman, Terri Schindler-Schiavo, ill since 1990, and now requiring medically assisted hydration and nourishment, has come to the attention of the general public. Medically assisted hydration and nourishment means that she must now be given food and water by the use of a feeding tube. The latest court decision is that this life support will be terminated on October 15 , and she will be allowed to starve to death. What makes this case very sad is that there seems to be irreconcilable disagreement between Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings, who wish her care to continue, and her husband and the courts, who seek what we consider a too hasty end to this unfortunate woman's life. What makes this case critical for our consideration is the necessity that Terri Schiavo's life be protected, that Church teaching be applied, and that we give due consideration to the circumstances of our own lives and deaths, and try to prevent this same kind of tragic impasse from occurring within our families and our communities.

I believe that in the case of Terri Schiavo, where there is considerable doubt about her medical condition, and where the feeding and hydration cannot be shown as producing harmful effects to her body and mind, where her care cannot be considered too burdensome for her family or her care-givers, and where death cannot be shown to be imminent, then we must make a decision to preserve life - a decision to provide her with the means to keep living, and to do so as comfortably as possible. This, I believe, is a responsibility shared by her family, her Church and the entire community. The Church teaches, that when uncertainty exists in situations such as Terri Schiavo's, then we must show a preference for the preservation of life. This preference is overwhelmingly supported by the facts of Terri Schiavo's particular case, facts which may be examined at: www.terrisfight.org

Finally, this tragic case reminds us of the attention we should give to preventing such situations at the time of our own death, by discussing these matters with our families and our doctors, by making our wishes regarding our own death known, by entrusting the power to make medical decisions on our behalf to a medical surrogate, and by depositing with the appropriate agent, a "living will", making our wishes clear, should our competence be impaired.

May God bring peace and resolution to Terri Schiavo, to the Schiavo family, and to all their friends and loved ones, and may He strengthen His Church daily in her resolve to protect human life, a gift shared with the Father through His Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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