Reply #86: Response [View All]

[comsymp]

Is it too much to turn her body over to the family she spent the vast majority of her life with?

Well, yeah, actually. He is still her husband. As Citizens of the US, practicing Catholics and presumably good Christians, the family is obliged to defer to her married state.


Are you for real? Cremation is a vicious act when the family is Catholic and Catholic burials do not include cremation. Can he allow them this ONE wish? Why does he insist on cremation when every person who loves her wishes her to be buried according to her faith?

1) It appears that at least one person who loves her wants her cremated. That person is also the only one legally entitled to make the decision in this case.

2) Unlike divorce, the Catholic Church does not have a problem with cremation. According to the link I just cited, it was apparently settled by Vatican II the same year TS was born.


You are so caught up in this that you actually believe he doesn't care about his daughter?

Frankly, I don't know - and neither do you. As I stated above, "It's fine to believe that, and it's generally a safe assumption, but when you state it as fact it should be supported by evidence."
I'm not particularly "caught up in this," as should be obvious by the fact that I'm not using emotional arguments or terminology <cough>, nor will you find my post count in this or related threads to be particularly high. In fact, my only comments on this issue beyond the half-dozen or fewer posts here, can be found here. Does that sound like I'm "caught up in this" to you? Additionally, I don't personally grok how this can be a partisan issue - to me, it's a family rights / individual rights / privacy rights issue. Period.

Are you "so caught up in this" that you don't believe that MS cares about his wife? All evidence (court documents, public comments by the Schindlers, MS' refusal to divorce / remarry, his 15 years as primary caregiver / responsible party, etc.) suggests otherwise.


Can't you have compassion for her family and for what they are going through--regardless of disagreement with them?

Actually, having had a similar experience, I not only feel compassion for them, but empathy. Please don't try to mischaracterize my remarks. I do believe, and strongly, that MS is her family, too - and that the act / state of marriage redefines family status to not only include the spouse but to elevate the spouse above biological family, and that (under most circumstances - there are always exceptions) *only* a spouse has the right - and obligation - to enforce the other's wishes. This view is also supported by most mainstream religions, including Catholicism, as well as civil law.

EDITED TO FIX LINK