Kevin O'Rourke Takes Fire for His Courage

Chicago Trib discusses the fire that Kevin, professor of bioethics at Loyola and a priest, has taken for his words in support of removal of the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo:

Rev. Kevin O'Rourke sat at his computer and started reading hate mail from fellow Catholics infuriated by his stance on end-of-life care.

Many were outraged when the Chicago priest appeared on national TV last month arguing there were moral grounds for removing a profoundly disabled person's feeding tube.

"I was absolutely sickened to hear your commentary," one wrote in an e-mail.

"After listening to you, I now understand why Catholics leave the church," another fumed.

"You were a disgrace. ... What a sad example of a priest!!!!" another said.

For someone considered one of the nation's foremost experts on Catholic medical ethics, they were harsh words, but not unexpected.

O'Rourke, a scholar at Loyola University's Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, is a leading proponent of letting families withdraw artificial life supports for patients in a vegetative state. As such, he stands at the center of a heated controversy within Catholicism over end-of-life care, one of the most sensitive issues facing the church as Pope Benedict XVI assumes its helm.