Was Pope's Death A Mercy Killing?

Medical Professor Says John Paul II Was Euthanized, If Church's Own Teachings Applied

(CBS)  In a highly provocative article that has caused a firestorm in Italy, a doctor claims the Catholic Church in effect practiced what it would class as euthanasia on Pope John Paul II by failing to insert a feeding tube into the ailing pontiff in time.

As CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reported on The Early Show Wednesday, the pope's slow demise was watched by hundreds of thousands who jammed St. Peter's Square, and by the rest of the world on TV.

The physician leveling the mercy killing allegation, Dr. Lina Pavanelli, heads the intensive care medical school at Italy's University of Ferrara.

"The doctors had done something, the doctors didn't inform the pope completely, or the pope decided," Pavanelli told CBS News. "These are the three conclusions that I reached."

She based her conclusions, Pizzey points out, on TV coverage, press reports, and a book by the pontiff's personal physician.

A feeding tube wasn't inserted into John Paul II until three days before he died, which Pavanelli charges was far too late.

One of the effects of the late stages of Parkinson's disease, which afflicted John Paul II for years, is an inability to swallow.

In her article, Pavanelli writes that, "I let my perceptions conform to the hope of recovery and the official version, without confronting the clinical signs that I was seeing."

John Paul II's successor, Benedict XVI, recently issued a document denouncing cutting off food and water to patients in a vegetative state.

The Vatican took that stance in the case of Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged American woman who was eventually taken off a feeding tube and died. The Vatican ruled that, "The administration of food and water, even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary way of preserving life."

The Vatican also ran into controversy when it refused to grant a church funeral for an Italian man who successfully petitioned to be allowed to die after being on life support for nine years.

The euthanasia allegation will be almost impossible to prove, Pizzey says, not in the least because Dr. Pavanelli wasn't part of the pope's medical team.

All the Vatican will have to do, Pizzey adds, is point to John Paul II's insistence on suffering in public to show his belief that all life has value.

And Father Thomas Williams, a CBS News consultant and Catholic theologian based in Rome, dismisses Pavanelli's conclusions.

"I think," he told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Wednesday, "it (failing to insert the feeding tube for so long) was a medical decision. It could have been a good one or bad one. But euthanasia, remember, is the intentional acceleration of the death of a person. And, I think, to allege that they intentionally accelerated Pope John Paul's death is really farfetched. I don't think anyone wanted that -- not the pope himself, and not anyone who was close to him."

"I have spoken with a number of doctors, both ... in Italy and in the United States about this," Williams continued, "and there's no consensus there. Dr. Pavanelli is definitely in the minority in saying the tube should have been inserted earlier. In fact, the tube is only put in when the patient is no longer able to ingest food and liquid by his or herself. And the pope was able to do that until shortly before his death."

Williams observed that, "Everybody loves a conspiracy theory, especially when it relates to the Catholic Church. I remember back in 1978, when Pope Paul VI died, everyone started putting forth theories that he was poisoned or killed in some way. The same thing happened after the death of John Paul I, so I'm not really surprised."

There's been no official Vatican reaction to Pavanelli's article yet and, "I don't think there will be, unless the reaction to this reaches a critical mass where the Vatican feels that it's obliged to make some sort of a statement," Williams says. "There has been an immediate statement by the pope's personal doctor ... who was there at the pope's bedside up to the point of his death. He said these allegations are simply false."

[gkc99]

The point is not that JPII did anything wrong (he was unconscious at the time) but that the Catholic heirarchy are hypocrits who use methods for their own benefit they loudly try to deny to others. They threaten politicians and citizens with excommunication, as they suck in their tax-free billions, but are happy to slip by the rules themselves.

[crkelso-2009]

I am very disappointed and angry (not surprised) that Harry Smith, The Early Show, and CBS News would choose to attempt to denigrate the memory of John Paul II. This is a blatant example of the political bias of your organization, the means you are willing to use, and the depths to which you are willing stoop to promote your far-left agenda. I felt like I needed to respond to this particularly vicious attack on one of the greatest men in recent history. I am Catholic, so I was immediately offended. But, after I perceived the lack of substantiation of the claim, the leftist smear tactic became apparent. This is media corruption of the worst kind.

[getloud1]

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**** STOP THE WAR & Corporate Corruption****

He has NEVER voted:
* to raise taxes
* for an unbalanced budget
* to raise congressional pay
* for a federal restriction on gun ownership
* to increase the power of the executive branch

He HAS voted:
* against the Iraq war
* against the inappropriately named USA PATRIOT act
* against regulating the internet
* against the Military Commissions Act

He will eliminate the IRS, Wasteful Government Spending & Stop The Iraq War Immediately!

Most importantly, he voted NO on anything in Congress that is not allowed by the Constitution.

He is the only candidate not a member of the CFR!

Shouldn''t ALL members of Congress uphold the Constitution? Aren''t they SWORN to uphold it? You can bet Paul WON''T call the Constitution "just a G**D***ed piece of paper" like George Bush is reported to have.

If you want a candidate you can TRUST due to a proven track record, visit www.ronpaul2008.com and get busy spreading the word. The Mainstream Media is Blacking Out The Truth Spoke By Ron Paul!

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[oboh jerry]

As part of my tradition in Nigeria, it is bad to talk about the dead.
The devil I know for sure will do anything to break or come between the catholic church, it hurts me to hear or see christains persecuting christain, and it is bolding written that no one has the right to judge another for his short coming; with respect to this anyone who say ills about the pope and other priests and men of God worldwide should know that at first they have disobeyed the teachings of the gospel of Jesus christ, so therefore on whose side are they.
Becareful my brothers and sisters so that we don,t become an instrument of the devil.

[dante805]

More lies by CBS, Time, NYTimes, what rags these have become. A whacked out Doctor with no first hand knowledge with a far-out opinion and they publish it for fact. WOW, mainstream media needs a new matra. All the rumors fit to garner attention. How pathetic

[shanev137]

I mean seriously.....who in their right mind will ever be able to take anything serious from anyone in the Catholic Church regarding anything after they paid out tens of billions of dollars to their molestation victims.

It''s just another sick cult who happens to horde trillions of dollars worldwide.

[Krazcarl]

I was a nurse and these extrodinary life saving mesures only serve to keep the body alive not the mind they didn''t want him to be vegetable they wanted him to be a man which I''m sure he would want. I''m a firm believer in letting go and have told my family so. The church stance I could care less. There was a pt. of mine in 20 year unconsios state for all practable purposes with no hope of improvement unless the seas were parted again . All it did was tear the family to shreads {he will never improve} when you get to the point of hoping for death it''s time to let go and any rational person would agree, it''s easy to throw stones till you in the glass house.

[iceman_1960]

"One of the effects of the late stages of Parkinson''s disease, which afflicted John Paul II for years, is an inability to swallow."

That''s a very bad shortcoming in a Catholic, who must swallow all kinds of absurdities just to stay in the Church.

[iceman_1960]

"Medical Professor Says John Paul II Was Euthanized"

If that''s true, it represents real hypocrisy.

"Do as we say, not as we do."

It''s almost as bad as if somebody was condemning pedophilia publicly while secretly practicing it.

[adasher1]

sqll , since when has comfort played a role in the search for your god?

[name_verify]

Watch Libs try to out-do each other here by bashing Christianity...

What purpose was this allegation suppose to serve?
Are we talking about the "15 minutes of fame" here?
The "doctor" needs to just shut up. That poor man
was so sick that that a feeding tube (or any other
tube) would have only added to his discomfort in his
final days. He was able to pass with a dignity and
comportment and peace that charactarized the life of
service and selflessness he lived.

[jonny_chaos]

lol, good joke usmcvn...

[sftodd]

I''m not into Catholicism, but have you seen the Vatican? My God, it''s fabulous!!! I don''t care what they did to get all that artwork, it was worth it!

[mgpm-2009]

I''m a liberal Catholic. I''m against abortion and euthanasia, but for social programs and workers rights. I DON''T destroy churches. I believe what the Magisterium teaches. I''m not a sheep, either. I just have faith. PJPII was not euthanized. Please, what a ridiculous story.

Screen ident: You don''t know it all. Don''t throw stones.

[petesis]

Terry Schiavo anyone?

[petesis]

Ha Ha. Typical of the church really. What aspect of the churches teachings are not overlooked daily by all members of the church? Why should the pope be any less hypocritical? The church has to appeal to a broad base because it craves the money a larger base brings in. If they actually stuck to the teachings of Jesus, it wouldn''t take five minutes and you would live it all the time and be totally free of monetary cost . But, in actuality, the church has little to do with Jesus and everything to do with money.

[adasher1]

screen_ident, WHO are the biggest religious libs?!?!?!?!?!?!?! CATHOLICS!!!! Come on.....go back to barney or disney.com or something that%u2019s more your speed. Apparently/obviously you are not smart enough to post here, nor is jdeltoro1.

Usmcvn, LOVD the post. Well done.

[adasher1]

screen_ident , LOL! Read about your popes before you spew garbage. Go read about them, about what they have done, about the killings that they have done and ordered ala the Mafia, the *** with their own kin, their murder, abortion, and divorce (yes, popes used to get married, and not always to only one woman), THEN and only then come back here and tell us how this is a bad assumption that the pope here was not helped to live longer. Anyone here that spews the good news about the popes and the bible needs to go read, read, read. I loved JPII even though I do not believe in a god, and I loved what he did because I READ about him and I know what he did for this world. Read all sides....THEN and only then will I listen to you.

jonny_chaos, well said.

[kansas1946]

How can it be euthanasia by not doing something. Of course it wouldn''t surprise me that someone would try and force other people to do or not do something that they themselves think is ok for them. But not placing a feeding tube is hardly euthanasia.