Patients who are in a persistent vegetative state, even for years, must be given nutrition and hydration as long as their bodies can absorb the nourishment, Pope John Paul II said. "The administration of water and food, even when delivered using artificial means, always represents a natural method of preserving life and not a medical act," the pope told an international group of physicians and ethicists. The pope met the group March 20 at the end of a four day meeting on the ethical decisions surrounding life-sustaining treatments for patients in a persistent vegetative state.

St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN has announced a $10 million gift, the largest in its 146-year history, from the family of Bill and Joyce Sexton of Incline Village, NV. Most of the gift will be designated for the Joyce and William Sexton Family endowed scholarship fund; it will also support the Abbey Guest House project and the university’s athletic program. Both Sextons are originally from Minnesota. Bill Sexton, who graduated from St. John’s in 1955, served as a university regent from 1989 to 2001. In 2000 he received the university’s highest honor, the Father Walter Reger Award, for his service to St. John’s.

Washington - On March 25, 2004, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted to pass the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, S. 1019, by a vote of 61-38. The bill, also known as "Laci and Conner's Law" in memory of Laci Peterson and her unborn child, recognizes an unborn child as a second victim in a violent federal crime against a pregnant woman. It will now be sent to the President, who has promised to sign it into law. "We applaud the Senate for voting for justice for women and their children," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Esq., spokes-person for the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. "No woman should ever be told she lost nothing when she loses her child to a brutal attacker."

The bill passed the House of Representatives three times; this action marks the first Senate vote on the bill. The Bush Administration has indicated its strong support for prompt enactment of the bill.