Death with Dignity

The life and death of Pope John Paul II were remarkable. The calm and fortitude with which the Pontiff apparently met his end served as a model for all of us. However much I disagreed with his policies and his doctrine, however retrograde his Church, I admired his strength of character and personal integrity. Even at the end, he was blessed with dignity in death.

Dignity in death. It is sobering to think how few of us will actually receive a similar blessing. Death is unpredictable and often messy, and few of us are really prepared when it comes. The circus surrounding another recent death, that of Terri Schiavo, makes this point all too clearly. Schiavo's life was effectively over years ago, but she became a vehicle for right-wing Christian extremists and cynical politicians like Tom Delay and Bill Frist to stoop to new depths in exploiting the passions of their intolerant and obscurantist followers. While the passage of the Pope was an uplifting moment, the hypocrisy of the crowds who affected to adopt "Terri" as a close personal friend — though they never knew her — in order to push their own intolerant and life-denying agenda was truly nauseating.