To the editor:
Father Richard McBrien’s August column revealed an anti-life mentality.
He stated that “almost every reputable Catholic moral theologian who commented on the Schiavo case concluded that continuing the use of a feeding tube to keep Mrs. Schiavo alive was a clear instance of an extraordinary means and as such could be dispensed with.”
Evidently Father McBrien was unaware of a conference of the international federation of Catholic medical associations held in Rome, Italy, in March 1994.
In essence the conference stated “the Catholic Church teaches that feeding tubes are ordinary treatment and not subject to the limitations placed on extraordinary means.”
It is also noteworthy that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said food and water are always required while extraordinary means are not.
Father McBrien needs to get his facts straight. It is highly unlikely that “reputable Catholic theologians” would support judicial homicide.
Robert Bart
Elm Street
Ithaca
