The Roman Catholic Church had adopted brain death, and not the absence of heart beat, as the "true criterion for death" in 1985 after scientists at the Harvard Medical School published the universally accepted definition in 1968.

But, 23 years on, a front-page editorial in official Vatican newspaper, the L'Osservatore Romano, has suggested that life might continue even after the brain dies.

According to the article, penned by Lucetta Scaraffia, a Professor of Modern History at Rome University and a regular contributor to the newspaper, the accepted definition of brain death "contradicts Catholic doctrine".

"The assumption of brain death is in contradiction with the concept of the person according to Catholic doctrine, and therefore in contradiction with the Church's directive on persistent comas," British newspaper The Daily Telegraph quoted the editorial as saying.

Prior to the brain death concept, the absence of heart beat had been said to define death.

But the arrival of the Harvard definition enabled the Church to sanction life-support machines being switched off. However, the key beneficiary of the brain-death definition has been organ transplantation, according to the article.

The Pope's Spokesman, Padre Federico Lombardi, said that the editorial was more of a personal opinion rather than the official Vatican line. However, he said that the article was "interesting and authoritative".