Terri Schiavo’s Brother Criticizes Florida Bishop Over His Sister’s Death 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 28, 2007
St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) — As LifeNews.com looks back at the painful euthanasia death of Terri Schiavo at the hands of her former husband, her brother, Bobby Schindler is releasing a letter written to Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida. Schindler criticizes Lynch for not doing enough to stop her death.
In the letter, provided to LifeNews.com, Schindler says he holds Lynch "more accountable for her horrific death than Michael Schiavo, his attorney, and even the judge that ordered her to die."
He points to a recent op-ed Bishop Lynch wrote on homelessness and the failure of society to lend a hand.
“The faces which may haunt each of us on Judgment Day may well be those of people who have approached us for assistance and were turned away," the Catholic leader wrote.
Schindler calls the comments hypocritical in light of Lynch’s lack of involvement in helping to stop Terri’s death.
"Fortunately, my family was provided much needed comfort and strength by an enormous outpouring of prayers of support, including the unwavering support of the Holy See, which to this day continues to arrive for our family," Schindler wrote.
"Terri’s legacy is one of life and love. Sadly, your legacy will be that of the shepherd that stood silently by as one of his innocent disabled lambs was slowly and needlessly slaughtered by removing her food and water — while you persistently ignored the cries of her family for help," Terri’s brother added.
Schindler sent the letter to Bishop Lynch on March 9 and he has received no response to it.
Lynch’s office did not respond to requests from LifeNews.com to comment on the letter.
Schindler said he decided to write Bishop Lynch because of the upcoming anniversary of Terri’s death and recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI saying that Catholics have a "grave responsibility" to defend all innocent human life, and a "non negotiable" duty to oppose the practices of abortion and euthanasia.
"If the Church teaches that such a grave responsibility rests on elected officials who are here today and gone tomorrow, and who hold mere temporal power, what of the successors of the apostles – our bishops – who hold the greatest spiritual authority on earth?" he said in a statement.
"Perhaps certain bishops should not consider themselves above such scrutiny as well," he concluded.
Since Terri’s death, Schindler and his family now work for the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, an organization that helps disabled patients like Terri receive appropriate medical treatment.
Related web sites:
Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation – https://www.terrisfight.org
