It is a pity that while a woman is being starved to death in the US, his Holiness Pope John Paul II has failed to recover from a recent throat operation.

I am sure that he would have vociferously opposed the barbaric action that is being taken to starve Terri Schiavo to death.

Mrs Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly due to a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder and has since survived by receiving food through a feeding tube – incidentally similar to the one that feeds the Pope when he undergoes throat surgery in hospital.

Terri’s vital organs function properly: she breathes on her own and her heart functions properly.

However, her husband has decided to call on the courts to allow his wife to die, even though she is not in pain or suffering.

Having already received the Last Rites, on Easter Sunday she was denied the sacrament of Holy Communion.

I remember the Pope’s words when he called on the people to stand up to the Mafia after Judge Giovanni Falcone was killed.

And I truly wish to hear what he has to say to those who are guilty of allowing Mrs Schiavo to starve to death.

Luciano Borg

Naxxar