Saying No to the Culture of Death - life_and_death

Accused Mother walks free from court

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:49:50 +1000

Has Justice been served for this mother, who had 4 children and lost all of them for an unknown reason?

CAROL Matthey entered the Supreme Court yesterday charged with murdering her four small children, one by one, over five years.

Police said she deliberately suffocated them, partly in order to sustain her troubled relationship with her husband, Stephen Matthey, the children’s father.

But yesterday, the criminal case against Mrs Matthey, who has always denied she harmed her children, collapsed.

Fifteen minutes after she arrived, Mrs Matthey left the court free, cheerfully accepting congratulations. In an extraordinary end to one of the most dramatic cases in Victorian legal history, prosecutors dropped the charges because much of the evidence gathered against her was ruled inadmissible.

A case that involved a three-year police investigation, thousands of pages of statements and 160 witnesses — and a case that dominated four years of Carol Matthey’s life — was suddenly over before it reached trial.

After she left the court, Mrs Matthey walked along William Street smiling, declining to answer reporters’ questions until this one: “Are you not guilty, Carol?”

“No,” she said firmly.

The reporter pointed out the double negative and asked for clarification. Did she mean she was innocent? “Yes,” she said, chuckling, amused at the misunderstanding. Then she walked off the public stage and into the rest of her life.

The Supreme Court case against Mrs Matthey ended as a result of pre-trial hearings before Justice John Coldrey. In a complex 94-page judgement on October 12, he found most of the proposed evidence inadmissible under the law.

In legal terms, this is not an acquittal. A defendant against whom charges are withdrawn is not protected by double jeopardy and, theoretically, faces the prospect of another trial if new evidence emerges.

Mrs Matthey, 27, of Geelong, lost four children between 1998 and 2003. Jacob was seven months old, Chloe nine weeks old, Joshua three months and Shania three years and four months. At her committal hearing in March 2006, Mrs Matthey’s defence argued there was no physical evidence of harm done to any of the children. Her lawyers said it was possible the children shared an as-yet-undiscovered gene that caused a medical condition, such as a fatal cardiac arrhythmia, that led to their deaths.

Police yesterday declined to comment. The acting director of public prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke, QC, said the case was irreparably damaged when the judge deemed inadmissible much of the medical evidence.

Initially, Jacob and Chloe Matthey were found to have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and Joshua of klebsiella septicaemia. A police investigation began after the death of Shania, who was too old to have died of SIDS, and for whom no cause of death could be found. At the committal hearing, experts acknowledged SIDS was a “diagnosis of exclusion” — the cause of death used for babies when no other cause can be found. They said there were often no forensic clues that would differentiate natural SIDS from deliberate suffocation.

This left much of the expert medical evidence at the committal heated and contradictory. Four local forensic pathologists strongly argued the autopsies revealed no scientific evidence of harm to any of the children.

But a pediatrician from South Australia who specialized in SIDS, Dr Susan Beal, and a forensic pediatric pathologist from the US, Dr Janice Ophoven, were equally vehement homicide was the most likely explanation.

They argued that “scientific” evidence included the lack of risk factors for SIDS in some of the children; the rarity of four such deaths in one family; the troubled marriage; and the fact that the children had experienced “ALTEs” — apparent life-threatening episodes in which they stopped breathing or were found unconscious.

Dr Beal said: “ALTEs are not a predictor for SIDS; they’re a predictor for (homicide).”

Justice Coldrey ruled out most of the evidence of these two witnesses.

The conflict between the experts meant the Crown case relied on other evidence, such as Mrs Matthey’s relationship with her husband and children.

Justice Coldrey said the Crown had submitted that, particularly at times of ALTEs or deaths among the children, the marriage was under severe strain.

“Moreover, it is asserted that the relationship of Mrs Matthey to her children, evinced by unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, mediocre parenting and indifference to their deaths, would enable a jury to infer they were the unfortunate pawns in this strategy to bolster her marital situation,” he wrote.

Justice Coldrey found there was no discernible link between the timing of marital crises and the ALTEs or the deaths: “There is no foundation for the contention that the killings were designed to win back Stephen Matthey’s love and affection.”

While there was evidence of poor mothering, the judge wrote, other reports painted a picture of a woman “who was a concerned, caring and loving mother during the children’s lives, and a distressed and grieving one when they died”.

Mrs Matthey’s lawyer, Paul Lacava, SC, said there were no winners in the case. “Mrs Matthey and her husband have lost their children and their sadness is profound and ongoing.

I find it very strange that it used to be accepted if one baby died from SIDS then there was a chance that further babies could die from SIDS, yet these two women “experts” on a mission claim that it is impossible and that the deaths must be homicide. If this mother did in fact kill her children, then both of these “experts” have done a lot of harm to the prosecution case. The local pathologists, who had more than likely examined the bodies of the babies indicated that there was no scientific evidence of harm being done to the children. Why then should the Prosecution be allowed to build a case based upon the evidence of “experts” who had not performed any forensic pathology on the children. The Judge did the right thing striking down the charges. Carol Matthey does not walk away from the court as a totally free woman, because she could be charged again, but at least justice is seen to be done when a case that is not based upon fact, but upon “experts with a mission” has been struck down because of the lack of real evidence that would lead to a conviction.

Has Justice been served? Profit put ahead of lives

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:34:30 +1000

The owners of a nursing home in New Orleans, where several residents died during hurricane Katrina have been acquitted of negligent homicide.

On that fateful day, 35 residents at St. Rita's drowned as flood waters inundated the home. The owners of the home were charged with negligent homicide because of their failure to respond in time to the evacuation warnings. A jury took 4 hours of deliberation before acquitting the couple of the charges.

However, I personally cannot understand how these owners, who failed the residents of the nursing home could have been acquitted. I cannot see how justice has been done in this case. There was plenty of warning that Katrina was heading for New Orleans, yet the owners failed in their duty of care to evacuate the residents and ensure their safety. Did the lives lost matter?

"Prosecutors depicted the Manganos as greedy and negligent. One witness suggested that Ms. Mangano was concerned about the cost of an evacuation. Three other nursing homes in the parish evacuated residents, the prosecutors said, but the Manganos ignored urgent warnings broadcast as the storm bore down.

The Manganos, prosecutors said, barely had an evacuation plan — they had only a nine-passenger van that would have been inadequate. It was “reckless disregard,” Assistant Attorney General Paul Knight told the jury in his closing argument."

The defense in this case argued that their clients were innocent because of the failure of the levee banks, and they cited the lawsuit against the authorities on this matter. However, was this sufficient reason to acquit a couple who were so clearly negligent in their failure to remove the residents from the nursing home. How is it that the jury failed to understand that the owners had a duty of care such that they should have commenced the evacuation as soon as the warning was made? Even AMTRAK had come to the party and was willing to assist in taking residents out of New Orleans, but thousands refused to take advantage of the offer. Then there is the failure of the mayor of New Orleans in not ordering the use of the school buses for the purpose of evacuating New Orleans citizens.

Blame is being placed in the wrong place. People need to recognize that the responsibility for the disaster stops with the mayor of New Orleans, and in this case with the owners of St. Ritas.

Misdiagnosis of PVS continues to be a problem

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:32:40 +1000

When my Aunt Julia had a stroke, she became in the eyes of some "a vegetable". In fact my auntie was not a vegetable but she was not able to function at the same level as a healthy human being. She was confined to her bed in a nursing home, and she was not able to comprehend those around her, to the point that she confused the members of her extended family. My auntie was in this state a long time before the promotion of what is termed voluntary euthanasia became the rage. She was allowed to continue to live until she died naturally, and not because it was forced upon her through the withdrawal of her nourishment.

Twenty years or more later, when Terri Schindler-Schiavo endured something that deprived her brain of oxygen (she did not have a heart attack), her ruthless husband pushed to have her feeding tubes removed because it was claimed that she would never regain her full faculties. In fact Michael Schiavo made many false claims to the media about Terri's condition. The late Dr. Richard Cranford, a voluntary euthanasia advocate and doctor of death, was called as an expert witness in the Schiavo vs. Schindler case, and according to him, Terri was PVS to the point that she would never recover. However, as anyone who viewed the videos of Terri knows, Terri was not PVS. She was able to communicate. She was not in a coma. If Terri had been allowed to receive the appropriate level of therapy there was good reason to believe that she could have recovered to a certain extent, such that she could live a comfortable life. Someone who has suffered that form of brain injury can benefit greatly from intensive hydrotherapy. I have personally seen the results of such intense therapy and how a patient who was considered a vegetable when she first began hydrotherapy is now walking with aid. If Terri had received similar treatment then I am sure that Terri could have been able to do the same today. However, it was not going to happen because Michael Schiavo wanted her to be dead.

My point here is that a neurologist such as Dr. Cranford, who was in fact an euthanasia advocate, could easily misdiagnose a patient claiming that the patient is PVS instead of minimally conscious. We have seen several cases now, where the patient has been declared PVS and a legal battle has taken place. In the case of Halley Poutre, the child was facing certain death because of a court order when she pulled out of her coma. She was not PVS.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is a high level of misdiagnosis for patients with brain injury. Many are given up for dead, that is they have been declared to be in a vegetative state. In some cases the spouses have insisted upon the withdrawal of their feeding tubes and these patients have been forced to die in a really horrible way. It took Terri Schindler-Schiavo something like 12 agonizing days to die. Others have been fortunate to have a family who loves them and the spouses or family members have done everything possible to speed up their recovery. Some of these patients have remained in what is really a minimally conscious state, for a very long time when suddenly they have come out of that state, and have begun talking to family members. In some cases the brain has repaired itself.

Brain injury patients have been getting a raw deal because they do not have any say in their own treatment. No judge should have allowed Michael Schiavo to pull out the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo. This case showed the lack of justice in the American judicial system. Terri's case is just the tip of the iceberg. How many others have faced the same ordeal of being starved and dehydrated to death because they have a brain injury that has reduced their function? We do not have the right to decide if brain injury patients should be allowed to live or die. The American justice system has let down Terri Schiavo and her family and it has let down countless other families who only want what is best for their loved one. If what Michael Schiavo did to Terri is allowed to be a precedent, then every woman or man who faces domestic violence and who ends up with a brain injury as a result of that violence is in danger of being killed at the whim of a probate judge. This form of injustice must be stamped out, and voluntary euthanasia should be resisted at all levels in the legal and medical professions.

There is a time for dying and a time to give birth

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:41:32 +1000

Last Monday was the anniversary of my sister's death. I remembered her second anniversary by requesting that a Mass be said in her name. At the same time I asked for prayers for my niece Cassandra who was due to give birth during this month. Cassie became pregnant through the IVF program and when this happens they seem to run extra tests. At one point the doctors thought that there was something wrong with the baby. However, the tests that were run in March proved that this was not true. There was nothing wrong with either the baby's brain or his heart.

When I made the request for prayers for Cassie, I had no idea that she was in hospital because of high blood pressure and that a decision had been made to bring the baby on two weeks early. Imagine then, my surprise when I received the news that my niece had given birth to a very healthy baby boy at 8lb 4oz on 8th May, one day after the anniversary of Maureen's death. The hospital staff had delayed the induction by one day so that the baby would not be born on the anniversary of his grandmother's death.

So it is then, that I am reminded of the Byrd's song "Turn, Turn, Turn", which is based upon the Book of Ecclesiastes, where it says that there is a time for dying and a time to give birth. Now, I can celebrate the birth of my new great-nephew.

Goodbye to Cath & Angela

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 06:53:34 +1100

Last week was a sad week because I learned about the deaths of two people from my parish. The first lady, Cathy, was one of the first to welcome me into the parish when we arrived 10 years ago. It was a friendship that spanned 10 years. Cathy was diagnosed with kidney cancer. This is a very hard cancer to treat and sadly the prognosis for this cancer always remains not good. She put up a brave fight, and like Frank she rarely complained about the pain of her cancer. Cathy was a proud mother of 5 children plus grandmother to 6 grandchildren. She was a remarkable woman, and even if she had a strong personality, she loved those grandchildren so much that one cannot forget to time that she gave to each of them.

After hearing the news about Cathy who lost her battle with cancer on the previous Friday, I learned of the death of Angela, who was the wife of a man that I have grown to know over the years of attending daily Mass. On the Monday morning I got to the church and Brian was very upset. He spoke to another person and gave her the news, for Brian wanted to tell his friends before the presider for the Mass mentioned that Angela had died very suddenly. Angela had suffered from mental illness, but was mostly depressed. In fact I had a recent conversation with her about how she felt depressed because she needed someone to help her to get dressed and to have her hair washed because of a sore shoulder. Despite her illness Angela was a wonderful woman and so very gentle. Her death from a heart attack was very sudden and there was no real opportunity to revive her, because she was "gone" by the time she hit the floor. The ambulance officers were called and at least 6 ended up at the scene, but they had to call it as a death. One of the officers, a Catholic, called the local parish priest (this happened outside of our parish) and he was there within a very short time. He blessed the body and gave Angela the last rites, for there was nothing more that could be done.

So I have to say good-bye to two stalwarts of our little community. Both are at peace.

Vale Belinda Emmett - cancer victim

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:41:01 +1100

Last weekend Belinda Emmett at the age of 32 lost her battle with cancer. The actress, was a star on a TV show, when at the age of 24 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It appears that Belinda had noticed the lump 2 years before the cancer was diagnosed. Belinda became a tireless campaigner in getting the message out there, that women need to check their breasts on a regular basis and if they spot any lumps then go and get it checked. Belinda fought her battle very well, but the cancer had gone to her bones. There is no cure for bone cancer.

The big C has been touching my personal life a lot lately. Last year my sister died from bone cancer and this year a dear friend lost his battle with cancer. My mother in law died when I was in my twenties as a result of breast cancer. I know that if the cancer is caught at an early stage then the prognosis is good, but if the cancer has spread to the lymph glands there is very little chance for survival.

Belinda Emmett was a very brave young woman and she was a great support to other women who found themselves in the same predicament. During her battle with cancer, Belinda met and fell in love with Rove McManus, and he was a great support Belinda. They married only a few years ago, after Belinda had been told that the cancer had gone to her bones. Rove has cancelled his own T.V. shows for the remainder of the year. The poor man is devastated over the loss of Belinda.

Belinda's battle with cancer and her untimely death is a reminder that cancer does not discriminate when it strikes. I hope that with Belinda's death that there will be a rethink regarding the preventative measures that can be taken and can reduce the risk of women dying as a result of breast cancer. The government needs to expand the breast screening program, making it freely available to women under 50. The statistics need to be reviewed to take into account that many women are diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50 and that their survival rate often means that they die over the age of 50.

Breast cancer in a woman as young as Belinda is very aggressive. There is little chance of survival if it is caught too late. In Belinda's case, the secondary cancer was incurable, and she had a brave fight once the cancer had gone to her bones. Belinda is now at peace. May God rest her soul.

Vale Dr. Frank Orioles

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 06:30:36 +1000

The moment that I dreaded arrived on Saturday morning when I walked into my church in preparation for the Saturday morning Mass and I saw a small gathering of friends. Marge, my friend and Frank's wife was in tears and she was being comforted by two other friends. Frank had passed away at 12.50 a.m. as a result of secondary bone cancer. At last he was in peace from the pain.

I first met Frank and Marge after we arrived in Sydney in 1996 and we joined the family group movement in my local parish. We had some wonderful moments within the family group, and we shared quite a lot in the way of sadness. Frank, in many ways was always a backbone of the group. When he and Marge took on leadership of the group for a while, we used to look forward to our Frank-a-gram that would inevitably arrive in the mail giving details of the next planned event. We shared many wonderful nights at Frank's dinner table too. Frank had a wonderful sense of humour, and yes we still have the jockey whip that was given to us as a joke wedding anniversary present.

Frank was a warm, intelligent Christian man. He offered, without hesitation to take an elderly priest, by the name of Fr. Joseph Walsh to his various doctor's appointments. Nothing was too much effort for Frank. What really sets Frank apart is that he used to go to daily Mass, and he did this until just before he passed away. He would be there for the 6.45 a.m. Mass in our Parish, and if I missed a Mass he used to get on the telephone to ask if everything was alright. He went into hospital a few short weeks ago for a major operation that was to help him to keep walking. The operation itself was a success, and Frank was beginning to improve, but suddenly on Friday he deteriorated rapidly. I mention this, because Frank, despite his obvious pain was at peace with God.

I know from having watched Frank each morning that he was in a lot of pain, for he was favouring his back. A mutual friend, Vince, volunteered to take Frank to Mass and so Frank was spared the effort of driving in the final weeks of his life. What stands out ot me is that Frank did not blame God for his cancer, but he did come to accept the cancer that was killing him. He was an outstanding model of how one can deal with a life sentence such as cancer.

Frank was a medical doctor but he had to retire early for health reasons. He maintained an interest in theology and in his latter years he went to the seminary and gained a Bachelor of Theology. It was a mighty effort by a very brave and fine man.

I Remember - A Tribute to those who died September 11, 2001

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 09:30:05 +1000

We have just passed the 5th anniversary of the event that almost stopped the world - the successful attack on the World Trade Centre in New York City. The most asked question at this time of year is: what were you doing at the time that the Jidahists declared war on the USA and the remainder of the West?

As it happens on that night I had attended a Bible study group and a question had come up that was directly related to the subject of terrorism. What would you do if you thought that your homeland was being attacked by missionaries from other nations? This is a paraphrase of the question, but it gets the message across as to what was being asked in the context of the Acts of the Apostles, and our Scripture Study. My answer to that question happened to be that I would declare war on those responsible. At the time I was thinking about the first attack on the WTC, and that the perpetrators had likewise declared war on the USA. So, I went home, thinking no more about the answer, saw that one of my sons was still up and watching TV, and promptly went to bed. Little did I know that within 15 minutes of my arrival home, that Osama Bin Laden would have another attempt at attacking the WTC and that this time he would be successful. My oldest son had called to his brother to turn on the TV and he did so in time to witness the second aircraft slamming into the WTC.

It was not until the next morning, that I awoke to a news service on the radio that sounded like an episode from "War of the Worlds". My husband and I could not believe what we were hearing on the radio, and so the TV was put on and to our shock we heard the news that involved death and destruction, not just at the WTC, where the majority of the victims perished, but also at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., as well as a number of people perishing in Philadelphia. My Australian Prime Minister, John Howard was in Washington D.C. when this most vile attack upon the USA took place. He was right on the frontline of a declaration of war by the Jihadists.

The world had been asleep during the time of the Clinton Administration in the USA. Clinton had been a total failure as a President of the USA. His womanizing prior to his tilt to be president should have rung bells in the minds of the American people, yet his followers were as entirely self-absorbed as Clinton himself. It is this self-absorption, the preoccupation for bringing about a culture of death in the USA that has helped America's enemies to depict the USA not as a powerful nation but one that is crippled by its weakness and self-absorption. Clinton's behaviour only added fuel to the fire of the hatred that was brewing up inside the Jihadists who were getting ready to make their most deadly strike ever. The signs of what was to come had always been there, but the Clinton Administration was so up itself by imposing political correctness, that it failed to act upon advice that had been received from intelligence sources. Osama Bin Laden was fanning the flames of hatred amongst the Jihadists. He was sheltering with the Taliban and he was using that time to prepare for his plan of world wide domination through a Jihad that was to sweep through the West.

The politically correct philosophy is a foe of our Western culture, and it too, had a role to play in why this attack was allowed to happen. History will judge the ineptness or otherwise of George Bush too. He has also made some classic mistakes, yet has one thing right. We are in a middle of a war, that is based upon the Mohammedan Jihad. We need to stop fooling ourselves that Jihad means a call to personal holiness, because that is not what Mohammed meant when he introduced Jihad against any who would not convert to Islam.

Whilst I was shocked to the core over what happened in the USA, I cannot say that I did not know that I could happen. My own gut instinct told me that these people, who had menaced Israel for years, and who were looking for an excuse to attack the allies of Israel would find a way to further the path of death and destruction. At one time I was like all of the other people who have been sleeping, failing to understand that Islam is not a religion, but it is a political system, and that the leaders of Jihad desire control of the world's population. I did not understand that these are a people whose very purpose is to undermine and destroy Christianity and Judaism in order to bring about the world wide enslavement of the people.

We must not forget the grief of those who lost fathers, sons, husbands, wives and daughters, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and friends on that dreadful day. We must not forget the firemen and rescue workers who died trying to save the lives of others. There was evil perpetrated on that day, but out of evil, God brought a new spirit of life and co-operation. I pray that those who returned to church for the first time in a long time will have their faith strengthened and that they will not wait until there is a second and more deadly attack before they turn to God, and begin to amend their lives that are full of self-absorption.

In the long years since that dreadful attack we have seen more bombings and murder of citizens all around the world. The Islamists remain self-absorbed, as they strut out their grievances against Christians, Jews and others. All the while they refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. They gave tacit approval to the deaths of the thousands who died on September 11 2001. They took to the streets and cheered because they had successfully murdered so many in one evil hit. They continue to believe that the West is weak, and they parade their false pride in front of others. They threaten to murder anyone who does not agree with their point of view. They take to the streets and cause riots everywhere. They continue in their lies, so long as they do not have to take any form of responsibility for their own lack of maturity. Their aim remainst the same - the establishment of the world wide caliphate.

Yes, I continue to remember, and I will not forget what is at the very bottom of the declaration of war on the USA. His name is Mohammed and he was a camel driver who claimed himself to be a prophet of God. He was a false prophet and all of his fruits have been bad. Let us never forget what Mohammed started and how Mohammed murdered others so that he could gain power and influence over others. Mohammed hated both Jews and Christians alike. We must never forget the truth about Islam and we must remain on our guard against the deceit of the Islamists.

Vale Peter Brock

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:03:10 +1000

If I felt shock over Steve Irwin's death, can you imagine my surprise and shock to hear the news that Peter Brock, the nine times Bathurst champion died at the age of 61 as a result of a car accident. This man was Mr. Safety. He was always pushing the safety message to others. In fact his racing car number was 05, thus he was carrying the message about not drinking and driving every time he hit the race track.

Peter Brock was the Australian racing car champion. Everyone loved Brockie, and even the Ford fans loved to give Brockie a big cheer when he was the winner of the annual Bathurst car races. I have heard many good things about how Peter Brock was alway courteous to his fans and he would sign every single autograph whilst other drivers had left the track. He encouraged our Olympic athletes at Athens, and from what I heard, he behaved like a bit of a larriken. He did get involved in some stupid schemes, and there are people who probably think that he ripped them off because the schemes were really "iffy" in the first place.

Like Steve Irwin, Peter Brock has left a legacy for the whole of Australia. He is known for his work with underprivileged children. He is known for his generosity as well. He made a big impact on the motor sports here in Australia, and he pushed the car safety message at every opportunity.

Unfortunately, a seat belt and helmet was not enough to save Peter Brock's life when his car got out of control on a wide bend, and he ended up hitting a tree. There had been light rain on the track before the accident.

I hope that Peter Brock is in God's care and that his family will be comforted, knowing that he died doing what he loved the most - motor racing, but this time it was a car rally.

Vale The Crocodile Hunter

noreply@blogspirit.com (BeProLifenotProDeath) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 16:42:09 +1000

Last Monday, when I read the news on the Net, my jaw nearly dropped, for I could hardly believe my eyes: Steve Irwin, known around the world as the Crocodile Hunter was dead at the age of 44. He was killed from the toxin within the barb of a sting-ray. He leaves behind a widow, and two young children, Bindi aged 8 and little Bob aged 2.

Now I am not a fan of Steve Irwin. It is only fair that I state the truth, that I could not stand the way he spoke, and especially the way he kept on saying "Crikey". I hated his advertisements and I never watched any show that he hosted. Yet, I was shocked that this man who was very enthusiastic for his work was dead.

Steve Irwin's legacy has been felt around the world. This man was passionate about wildlife. His enthusiasm rubbed off on the many who flocked to Australia just to visit Irwin's family zoo in Queensland. He was great with school children and he taught everyone that it is better not to show the crocs any fear. Steve was also a good family man, and he loved his wife and children.

I have no doubt that Steve Irwin will be missed by those who loved his entusiasm for the wild animals, and also for life.

May God keep him in his company and may the Irwin family be comforted in their grief.