VATICAN CITY — Terri Schindler Schiavo has been condemned to die "an atrocious death" in a society that is "incapable of appreciating and defending the gift of life," said the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

A judge in the United States "has decided that Terri's life is not worth living, at the same time condemning the woman to an atrocious death: death by starvation and thirst," the paper said in its March 23 edition, which was released to reporters at the Vatican March 22. The paper gave its reaction to the case of the severely brain-damaged Florida woman in a front-page editorial.

Schiavo, 41, who has been brain-damaged for the past 15 years, can breathe on her own but requires nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube.

On March 22, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore refused to order the restoration of Schiavo's feeding tube, which had been removed March 18 by order of a Florida state judge.

Schiavo's parents had appealed to the federal judge after U.S. President George W. Bush signed emergency legislation March 21 allowing them to do so.

But Whittemore said he refused to order restoration of Schiavo's feeding tube because the woman's parents had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments.

The Vatican newspaper called the reasons behind the court decision "absurd and chilling" and said Schiavo's "destiny" based on a court decision was not unlike the death sentence facing the men and women sitting on death row.

However, in this case, "Terri has not committed any crime, other than that of being 'useless' in the eyes of a society that is incapable of appreciating and defending the gift of life," it said.

Earlier, in its March 21-22 edition, the Vatican newspaper said the debate surrounding the future of Schiavo has ignored "the heart of the issue" that no one has the right to determine whether another human being should die.

Under an avalanche of "accusations, appeals, and last-minute surprises, one risks losing the true 'heart' of the issue," the paper said.

"A human being, not a vegetable, is slowly dying" and instead of "provoking a wave of pity or solidarity," the "authentic drama" of Schiavo is "smothered by the indecent race to arrogate the right to decide on the life and death of a human creature," the paper said.

Schiavo's suffering recalls the "the agony of love" that comes when one remembers to help those who are "more fragile and needy," said the paper.

"The slow, heart-rending agony of Terri" is "the agony of humanity," it said.