Priest: Pope's feeding tube remarks apply only to vegetative state

Published: 2004-05-20

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II's recent statement regarding nutrition and hydration for patients in a persistent vegetative state should be interpreted strictly in relation to that condition, a priest-physician said May 19. It also should not be taken as a requirement for other situations where feeding tubes might be an option, said Jesuit Father Myles N. Sheehan. The priest, senior associate dean at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill., said the pope's statement meant Catholic institutions could not withdraw feeding tubes from people in a persistent vegetative state as long as the tubes served their purpose of maintaining life. But when questions are raised about whether to use the tubes in other situations, he said, the answer is, "That depends." Physicians should look at each patient individually, and decide in each case what will be helpful to that person, he said. Father Sheehan spoke to the Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel Program, which is held annually at St. John's University in New York with co-sponsorship by the St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers.

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