Category: Culture War

While I haven’t had the opportunity to sift through it all, here’s some interesting background on what allegedly goes on at the Hospice of the Florida $uncoast where Terri is warehoused for death receiving hospice care.

Now that he’s spent a few days with Terri and her family, Fr. Rob blogs about his experience with Msgr. Malanowski and the Schindlers. It is much like our own, except that Fr. Rob does so with much more clarity and precision. While I have summarized his reflection below, Fr. Rob’s entire reflection on Terri’s personhood is worth reading. To begin, Father’s follow description of Monsignor Malanowski is totally accurate:
Msgr. Malanowski is very impressive. He is zealous, energetic, and courageous. His courage was demonstrated on Tuesday night: He went in to visit Terri and give her Viaticum. When the husband-mandated “minder” (family members and Msgr. Malanowski aren’t allowed to see Terri without one of Michael’s representatives present) realized what he was about to do, she cried foul and told Msgr. he couldn’t do that. He asked the police what would happen if he did it anyway. They replied that they would arrest him. His response was “so lock me up”, or something to that effect. But then they added that they would physically prevent him from giving Terri communion. It was only the certitude that he would fail that dissuaded him, not the prospect of being arrested. […] I know priests half his age (he’s 81) who don’t work half as hard as he does. […] On Wednesday, he hadn’t slept 4 hours in the last two days.
His following description of the Bob and Marie Schindler as good people is no less accurate:
One of the things that struck me very quickly is how level-headed, reasonable, and calm the Schindlers are. […] I was half-expecting to meet people rendered emotional wrecks by their week-long ordeal of watching their daughter dying. They’ve also been portrayed, by the husband and his attorneys, and by unsympathetic media, as everything from religious fanatics to pathetic simpletons.
But they weren’t, and aren’t. They’re very normal, solid people. They’ve been represented as people in denial of their daughter’s sad state, blinded by their emotional attachment to her. But that is simply not the case. They are quite realistic about Terri’s condition: she is severely brain damaged, and will almost certainly never come close to substantial recovery. But they see that the person they know and love as Terri is still there. And they cannot understand why the fact that she won’t recover amounts to grounds for ending her life.
Finally, Fr. Rob does away with the myth that Terri is a vegetable, and compares her situation to that of one with Down’s Syndrome before coming to the following conclusion: “People with Down’s Syndrome won’t ‘get better’. The best you can hope for is to teach them enough skills so they can function in society, and many Down’s patients will never even reach that point. But we don’t (yet) kill the mentally retarded because they won’t recover. Most of us still have sufficient vestigial humanity to recognize that killing of the retarded is inhuman and barbaric.”
Again, I strongly urge you to stop by Fr. Rob’s blog and read his reflection after spending a couple days at the prayer vigil.

This will be my last update from the vigil until after the baby is born, as Sonya is pretty close to going into labor and the doctors have asked us to stick close to home. Terri’s parents are among the kindest and most decent people I have ever met. Before we left to return home, Terri’s father took us aside and asked if he could speak with us because he had heard from some of the nurses and paramedics at the vigil (the ones on our side) that Sonya looked like she was only a few days away from labor. He was concerned we might try and sneak up to the vigil between now and then.
To be honest, this wasn’t an unreal possibility since the hospital is about half-way between where we live and the hospice where Terri is staying. Nevertheless, Mr. Schindler said: “As a father, I’m here for my baby. We really appreciate your prayers and support, but you two need to be there for your baby now. We know you’re with us in prayer. But please come back with the baby as soon as you’re rested and able to travel.” I mention this because it is typical of the wisdom and compassion one finds with Terri’s parents. Even as they undergo such a tremendous cross, they show great consideration in generosity in wanting to make sure we weren’t neglecting our own family needs for the sake of theirs. Needless to say, we were stunned. “How could they even worry about us at a time like this?” Sonya asked. For my own part, I don’t think I could be this self-less if that was my daughter in the hospice. However, this is just one example that reveals the character of Terri’s family.
1) According to Terri’s family, who visited her yesterday, it looks like her condition is much improved. The color has returned to her face, she does not look so gaunt, and she’s responding to her family’s presence and attempting to communicate with them. It is impossible to know for sure, because Michael Schiavo is now reportedly denying Terri’s family access to her medical records under the Medical Privacy Act. Again, Terri’s family expresses their appreciation to everyone for our prayers and the rosaries.
2) Fr. Rob was out there yesterday. He spent most of the day with Terri’s parents, which allowed Monsignor to attend to a number of doctors appointments he had been putting off as well as get some rest. We spent some time together at the vigil, and he will try and update us whenever he can. Both Monsignor and Terri’s family are very grateful for his presence, especially since given Monsignor’s age, these three-hour nights are taking their toll on his health. Fr. Rob sends along his greetings.
3) It was also Mr. Schindler’s birthday yesterday. So we all sang him happy birthday just before he and his family went in for their evening visit with Terri.
4) If you listened in to the mainstream media on the ground, most of the reporters are actually quite sympathetic to Terri. This wasn’t the case when they arrived, but they’re becoming more sympathetic every day. What’s really interesting is watching them fight with the producers and the suits back in the head office over how the report is edited and spun. For this reason, some of the big news stations are starting to rotate their news teams after a couple days, while others are getting an earful as the reporters become increasingly less docile when asked to re-spin their report.
The one exception, of course, seems to be Fox News which is simply allowing their crews to call it as they see it. In fact, I spent a few minutes with the Fox crew yesterday, and thanked them for their unbiased reporting. (Okay, so they aren’t perfect, but they’re doing a better job than the rest of the television networks.) That being said, the other reporters are not nearly as biased as they are made to look on air, and we may possibly see a press revolt before too long.
5) Although the networks (I will not longer say press) continue to present Terri as a vegetable or in coma, from the descriptions of those I have spoken with who visited her, as well as from the video footage, etc. she actually ressembles someone with Cerebral Palsey. In fact, if you weren’t a lawyer or a doctor familiar with the history of her situation, you would probably conclude that this is what she has. I mention this because while Cerebral Palsey patients require a lot of assistance, most of us would be appalled if someone tried to murder them through starvation and dehydration.
6) I am grateful to everyone for your prayers and assistance in keeping everyone updated. Yet there’s a particular individual who is consistently and faithfully in the right place when I need his help, but always in the wrong place when it comes time to expressing my gratitude. This individual is Karl Maurer, a fellow regular contributor at the Wanderer. Anytime I need to reach someone from the vigil but don’t have their number on me, I’m on the cell phone to Karl who either looks up the number for me or emails the individual in question. He also keeps a pretty large distribution list going through the Catholic Media Coalition, and has faithfully gotten action alerts out within seconds. Thanks Karl, it is greatly appreciated.
7) On that note, here’s a sample letter Karl wrote:
To: Mr. Roosevel Freeman
OCRcomplaint@hhs.gov
Office of Civil Rights
District Office in Atlanta
PHONE: 404 562-7886
RE: TERRI SCHINDLER SCHIAVO
Dear Mr. Freeman:
I am writing to ask that your office take immediate steps to remove Terri Schindler Schiavo from the care and guardianship of her husband Michael, who is currently under investigation for spousal abuse and criminal neglect.
Your immediate attention to this matter would be appreicated, as Mr. Schiavo has repeatedly attempted to have his wife killed. This email complaint is being filed in lieu of formal documents due to the critical nature of Terri’s case.
Thank you for your help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Karl Maurer
Karl J Maurer CPA
[Snail Mail Address]
[website]
[Phone]

Dear all,
I just got off the phone with Monsignor and Fr. Rob. Fr. Rob got in safely, and Monsignor brought him up to date over dinner. Fr. Rob has also been in contact with Terri’s parents. Monsignor is very grateful to the St. Blog community for sending Fr. Rob. Since this whole thing began, Monsignor has been putting off his own medical appointments and whatnot in order to remain accessible to Terri and her family. So Fr. Rob’s presence comes as a great relief. Fr. Rob gives everyone his best and asks for prayers.
The good news is that the feeding tube was reinserted and Terri is now getting nutrition as well as liquids. Additionally, Michael Schiavo backed down from his prohibition against Terri’s family visiting her. Nevertheless, he is now refusing Terri’s parents access to her medical records and condition — citing the privacy act. This is why we’re not getting any updates on her medical condition. It should also be noted that an independent guardian ad litem only applies to the specific court case. Mike Schiavo remains Terri’s legal guardian in all other matters.
There’s also some other troubling news. Today, Terri was secretely moved back to the “hospice” where she had been left to starve and dehydrate. One of my friends at the Wanderer sent me some pretty troubling background information on this particular hospice. Nevertheless, according to Mike Schiavo et al, Terri is receiving fluids and feeding. But it shows that the culture of death still has a strong hold over the situation. The vigil, which had shut down last night, has now resumed.
Tomorrow I have to take Sonya up to Sarasota in the afternoon to pre-register at the hospital and visit the ob-gyn. Afterward, we hope to head up to the vigil and link up with Fr. Rob. (I say “hope to” because Sonya is now experiencing some stomach pains.) Until then, please keep praying.
As far as action alerts, what we need now is for people to contact the Attorney General’s office — both federal and for the State of Florida — and urge an independent investigation into Terri’s condition and possible abuse. Email Deal Hudson over at Crisis magazine and request that he use his political clout to lobby the President and Governor Bush to do the same. And please email Fox News and request that they keep investigating this.
Finally, I just email Karl Maurer and John Pacheco a pdf copy I have of Chris Ferrara’s ammended legal brief. It pretty much sums up all the alleged irregularities in this case. I’ve asked them to alert Carl Olson and Mark Shea if they can get it up on their website, so that we can blog a link ASAP.

Amen! Okay folks, we all know what we need to pray for today!