Posted on 05/11/2004 7:01:48 AM PDT by amdgmary
Priest, counselor to terminally ill dies from injuries
BABITA PERSAUD St. Petersburg Times May 10, 2004
The Rev. Gerard F. Murphy, a Catholic priest whose work with terminally ill patients led to his outspokenness on the right to die, died Friday (May 7, 2004) after a traffic accident. He was 50.
Father Murphy was struck by a car in the parking lot of a Tampa shopping center earlier last week, said his brother, Kevin P. Murphy of St. Petersburg. He died from those injuries at Tampa General Hospital.
As a Catholic priest for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, the Rev. Murphy counseled many terminally ill patients, including his father who had a long battle with cancer.
One day, Father Murphy found his dad sitting on the bed, weeping.
Would it be a sin to quit going to chemotherapy, the dying man wanted to know.
"I said, "of course not,' " Father Murphy told the St. Petersburg Times in 1997.
Father Murphy thought that suicide was wrong, but in the modern world of medical advancement, not accepting treatment was acceptable.
"A great many Catholics, as well as people of all faiths, don't understand the difference between letting nature take its course and actively doing something to end your life, like going to Dr. Jack Kevorkian," he told the Times. "The message that I would hope to communicate is the importance of showing compassion. People don't understand the definition. Compassion doesn't mean to kill suffering people. It means to suffer with them."
Father Murphy counseled many terminally ill patients in the area. He also led Aging with Dignity workshops, open to all denominations. He began the sessions by asking participants to write their own obituary. "The reason I do this is to try to get them in touch with the reality that we are all mortals," he told the Times.
T Father Murphy was born and raised in St. Petersburg. He attended St. Paul's School and was a 1971 graduate of Bishop Barry Catholic High School, now St. Petersburg Catholic High School.
He graduated from St. Mary College in Kentucky, completed his seminary training at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach and was ordained in 1979.
He served at parishes throughout Tampa Bay, including St. Lawrence Parish, Tampa; Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Gulfport; St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church in St. Petersburg; St. James the Apostle Catholic Church, Port Richey; Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Sun City Center; and Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, New Port Richey.
He was pastor at St. Anne Catholic Church in Ridge Manor from 1999 to 2003.
Father Murphy retired from the ministry in 2003, but continued to counsel the ill. Most recently, he was a counselor for AIDS patients at a private clinic in Tampa.
Survivors include two brothers, Kevin P., St. Petersburg, and Shawn G., Tallahassee. Brett Funeral Home & Cremation Services, St. Petersburg, is handling arrangements.
"a Catholic priest whose work with terminally ill patients led to his outspokenness on the right to die" -- how sad that this Catholic priest who worked with the terminally ill apparently confused Terri with a terminally ill patient.
Terri is most certainly NOT terminally ill.
NOT brain dead, NOT in a coma.
How dare anyone, especially someone in a position of trust as he was, intentionally misrepresent her.
'A great many Catholics, as well as people of all faiths, don't understand the difference between letting nature take its course and actively doing something to end your life, like going to Dr. Jack Kevorkian,' he told the Times. 'The message that I would hope to communicate is the importance of showing compassion. People don't understand the definition. Compassion doesn't mean to kill suffering people."
How on earth could he have testified for HINO if this was his belief?
There is such a world of difference between a person who has brain damage but is stable and someone who is terminally ill.
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