The brain-damaged woman's parents contend their daughter would not willingly violate the rules of the church. They dispute son-in-law Michael Schiavo's contention that Terri Schiavo made statements indicating she would not want to be kept alive with no hope of recovery before her 1996 heart failure that left her in what most doctors say is a persistent vegetative state.

But even if their daughter did make such statements, she would have changed her mind after learning Pope John Paul II stated that people in her condition always should be provided nourishment, an attorney representing Bob and Mary Schindler told Circuit Judge George Greer on Thursday afternoon.

The Schindlers want Greer to hold what would amount to a new trial over their daughter's end-of-life wishes.

They have been fighting in court for six years to block Michael Schiavo from removing their daughter's feeding tube. After a January 2000 trial, Greer ruled in Michael Schiavo's favor and twice has issued orders allowing him to do so.

After the most recent removal, in October 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush ordered feeding resumed based on a measure quickly passed by state legislators and dubbed Terri's Law. In a ruling issued last week, the state Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the pope convened an international congress at the Vatican titled ``Life Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas.''

At its conclusion, the pontiff made a speech in which he stated, ``I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act.''

The pope went on to say that removal of a feeding tube would amount to the ``morally unacceptable killing of a human being.''

At the hearing Thursday, Greer heard arguments from both sides on whether he should hold another trial to determine whether Terri Schiavo still would want her feeding tube removed.

``Clearly, the pope has laid down a statement that would have a profound impact on the thinking of Terri Schiavo,'' the Schindler's new attorney, David C. Gibbs III, told Greer. ``This is the first time a pope has spoken directly on this issue.''

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, disputed that, and said nothing in the pope's statement is different from what was presented to Greer during testimony in the 2000 trial.

At the 2000 trial, Felos called a priest to the witness stand who testified that a feeding tube could be removed if it created an undue burden on the patient.

Greer, who is not expected to rule for several weeks, appeared to lean in favor of a new trial.

He told Felos what the pope said was not the same as the priest's testimony.

``The pope said it is wrong, for lack of a better word, to remove feeding tubes,'' the judge said.

Later, when Gibbs was making his argument, Greer said he would have to focus on Terri Schiavo's adherence to Catholic teachings before her heart failure to decide how she would react to the pope's pronouncement.

After the hearing, Terri Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Vitadamo, said she expects Michael Schiavo to testify that his wife used birth control in violation of church teachings.

``I'm sure they are going to put her on trial,'' Vitadamo said.

Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 799-7413.