This is what happens when Wesley J. Smith goes on vacation. I start missing pro-life-relevant news items. Just now heard about the Vatican's responses on administering nutrition and hydration, even to people in a so-called persistent vegetative state. They sound perfectly sensible to me, particularly the emphasis on this as "ordinary and proportionate" care.
Behind the Ate Ball
by Lydia McGrew
Comments (1)
The CDF's statement seems pretty much a restatement of the what the Pope already said in 2004, the response to which is summarized in the post you link to: The pope appeared to suggest that the provision of food and water is always an “ordinary” means and therefore morally obligatory, but there has been a lively back-and-forth about exactly how his comments should be interpreted and what level of authority they held.
That's what Catholics do, you see, when the Church says something they don't want to hear. This is reflected in some of the comments to the post by NCR's "Catholic" readers.
Posted by William Luse | September 27, 2007 1:28 AM