Schmidt and Gauck speak great words

This week former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the current Federal German President, Joachim Gauck, spent 90 minutes talking to Maybrit Illner on German television.

Helmut Schmidt spoke so passionately about the importance of the European Union. He argued against the holding of a referendum on any aspects of the EU. Spoke so eloquently about representative democracy.

He noted his respect for Jacques Monet and he recalled asking Monet for advice on two occasions.

And then, almost with no context, he spoke about a Germany that had murdered six million people, and that in Poland.

Both men stressed the importance of never forgetting what the Germans did.

Helmut Schmidt must be Europe's outstanding person and has been so for over 40 years.

When asked if he was impressed with this or that, he quickly pointed out to be impressed with people and ideas is not at all the issue.

Jokingly, when talking about the importance of a united Europe he said that we should all speak English and then quipped with a large smirk: "but the French would never allow that'".

Joachim Gauck, the former Rostock pastor, too spoke most eloquently.

Both ment stressed the vital importance of the EU concept.

And as is always, all rules were allowed to be broken so that Herr Schmidt could smoke.

Two wise and great men.

Ninety minutes of fascinating television.

German opposition chooses candidate

At a press conference in Berlin this afternoon SPD's Sigmar Gabriel has announced that Peer Steinbrück will be the SPD's candidate in next year's Federal German elections

The story of a little girl

A former Magdalene Laundry 'inmate' on RTE's Morning Ireland today told some of her story.

At that time young men all over Ireland were studying moral theology.

They were the days when the Catholic Church was 'strong' in Ireland.

Terrible.

Kind words can be a great help

Kindness and friendliness of staff at NRH is palpable.

The column below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.

By Michael Commane

It’s over 20 years since I first met Tom. Tom is not his real name. At the time he was in his teens and when I got to know him he had been involved in some minor petty crime. We met on a regular basis where we read English together. He had missed out much of his early education so, with his cooperation, we did some catching up together.

Some months ago Tom was involved in an accident where he lost one of his legs from the knee down. It was a horrific accident and he is a lucky man to be alive.

I visited Tom, who is now in his 40s, in the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire last week.

I had been to the NRH about 25 years ago and I remember on that occasion being greatly impressed with what I saw. Again on this visit I was positively struck with everything about the place. The work that is done there to rehabilitate people, who have suffered the most terrible of injuries, is simply awe inspiring. And like in all hospitals, the kindness and friendliness of the staff is palpable.

I walked into that hospital a healthy man with the use of all my limbs. Indeed, I had driven there on my motorbike. I left it with all sorts of feelings: how fragile we are, how precarious our lives are, how fortunate, at least up to now, that I have been to experience such good health and never to have been involved in a horrific accident.

Tom showed me the mechanism that had been attached to his leg to which the prosthesis is to be attached. Initially I had trouble looking at it. But Tom took it in his stride and is adapting well to his new lifestyle. And that too had impressed and amazed me. I simply cannot imagine that I would be so brave and accept such a disaster in as ‘easy’ a fashion.

But there was something else about my visit to the NRH that made it special.

Chatting to Tom I did pass a quick comment to him that when he came out he would have to behave himself and avoid getting into any trouble. He looked at me and in simple and straight words asked me if he had ever been unpleasant, rude or not nice to me. I told him that he has never been anything but correct and polite to me.

“See, if people treat me with respect, I will show them respect,” he retorted.

Of course we cannot do damage to other people or their property to suit our own needs. It’s never acceptable to be gratuitously nasty to another person. But Tom’s words set me thinking. If we all could manage to respect each other, would our world not be a better place? I guess it would be.

Kindness can go a long way. Its absence can cause mayhem.

A few days later I was back in the neighbourhood of the NRC and called in to visit Tom again. This time I had more time to listen to his story. We all have our stories and there are those who will argue that we can’t blame everything on our past. Each of us is responsible for her/his actions but gosh, our history, our past plays a major role in who and what we are.

Luke 6:31 comes to mind: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. If we all did that or at least tried to do it our world would be a better place. And if I tried doing it I’d be a lot better off too.

RTE kills past participle

RTE reporter on RTE News at One today: ".... She would have went....".

And that from our national broadcaster.

Really?

Living the Gospel in the everyday

"They didn't talk about God, they just did God."

Words spoken by Emma Spence at the funeral service for her father and two brothers at Hillsborough, Co. Down.

The three men died in a tragic accident at the slurry pit on their farm.

The things we miss in front of our noses

The piece below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.

By Michael Commane
Out walking with a colleague and accompanied by my dog Tess on Monday in Co Tipperary, Tess went missing in a wooded area. Suddenly we heard a loud flurry of feathers. At first my friend thought it was a pheasant but it was far too large to be a pheasant.

And then we realised it was a peacock. A fabulously coloured bird in a terribly excited and agitated state trying to escape from the clutches of my dog. I froze for a second or two while my colleague berated me for being such a clown.

The last thing I wanted was my stupid dog to kill a peacock. After all I was on private ground and presumably the peacock was the property of the owner of the land. And besides that, I simply did not want my dog killing the bird.
My previous dog had, over a number of years, killed five or six hens, a guinea pig and a pet rabbit. She had cost me a lot in 'blood money' and she had done no good to my already 'flawed reputation'. So under no circumstances did I want Tess to head down the same road. I have Tess for just over a year.

She is about six-years-old and so far, at least since coming to live with me, has committed no heinous crimes. As far as I know, she is not a murderer. Under no circumstances do I want her to get a taste of blood, hence my panic and scare on Monday.

There was a lot of coming and going. The peacock managed to get on to a tree branch. At that stage all Tess could do was growl. And then to my consternation the peacock was back on the ground, running, walking, waddling, whatever you call it, with Tess in hot pursuit. I could do nothing. In total panic I turned away.

Tess and peacock best of mates

And then seconds later to my complete amazement and bafflement, I saw my dog Tess walk along side by side with the peacock. It looked as if she was accompanying the peacock and they were the best of mates. Tess went hunting again for a short time in the nearby lake before coming back to us. Of course from that moment on she was on her leash. No more freedom for her on this land.

How glad I was that the peacock had escaped with his life.

It certainly set me thinking about nature. Tess is a labrador, so it might well be in her nature to hunt and raise birds but not to kill. But since she has no training in the art I was mesmerised with her seeming kindness and benevolence on Monday. But most of all was I a relieved man.

The following day I told my story to a friend of mine, who in his younger days was a keen hunter, and he expressed surprise that Tess did not kill the bird. But another person told me that labradors have two ways of dealing with prey; one is ‘soft-mouthed’ and corresponds with Tess’ antics. Phew, I even feel more relieved having heard that.

Later that day driving back to Dublin with Tess as quiet as a mouse in the car I kept thinking about the wonder of nature. Maybe I was also saying to myself how little I know about a reality that's within metres of every step I take.

It also made me conscious of how we run around the place missing out on so much. At least I do. We travel to all parts of the world and talk about the great things we see and do. And just look what's on our doorstep.

Okay, at first I was frozen in fear but the sight of that peacock, the wonder of the whole thing really was amazing.

It's so easy to miss what happens right in front of our noses.

Spain complains on Ryanair 'practice'

German news this evening carries a story about a Spanish complaint concerning Ryanair. Ryanair have had four emergencies in five days in Spanish airspace.

The Spaniards have lodged a complaint with the EU Commission.

And not a word on the the Spanish complaint on RTE Six O'Clock news.

More odd English and a sad result

And at Doncaster today the great Aidan O'Brien kept saying 'listen' when he was not saying, 'I should have ran a pacemaker'.

But so sad that Camelot did not win and do what Nijinsky did in 1970. And what a pity too that young Joseph did not pull it off.

Had Camelot won today, Aidan O'Brien would have won all five English classics this year.

They seem an amazing team, with mother too.

Policeman uses 'odd' words

A senior Irish policeman said on RTE Television news yesterday when talking about a crime: "Informaiton coming to our disposal."

A helping hand

The piece below is the Thinking Anew column in today's Irish Times

By Michael Commane
Two experiences in recent weeks have made me sit up and think about the influence that faith, belief and prayer have in our lives. In the scheme of things they are small events, nevertheless significant.

Walking my dog in a park, a young boy approached on his bicycle. Some paces earlier I had met a neighbour and she and I were walking in the same direction. Suddenly I heard a yelp. My dog had run against the boy's bicycle. My immediate reaction was to criticise the boy for cycling too fast. The woman with me immediately and instinctively asked the little boy if he was okay and if he had hurt himself.

He was fine, so too the dog, the little boy apologised and cycled off.

Some days later, again out walking with the dog, Tess is her name, I spotted a woman walking in a determined way. I looked to see where she was going. And then I understood. A man was huddled up on the ground some metres away from her house entrance. I got talking to her and she told me that she had noticed him there earlier and was now going to offer him some food and something to drink.

I had passed the man and had not even noticed him.

Both those events made me ask many questions. Maybe at a fashionable and topical level I ask myself how much better off the Catholic Church would be with a greater female involvement right throughout its ranks.

But at a deeper level it set alarm bells ringing in my own head. I have no idea if either of those good women believes in God, if they are members of a church, or if they ever pray. But I do know that they were genuinely interested in people who were weak and fragile at that particular moment. And I, a so-called minister of religion, berated one of the people and passed the other without even noticing that he was lying there in most unpleasant circumstances.

In tomorrow's second reading from the Letter of James we read: "If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, 'I wish you well: keep yourself warm and eat plenty', without giving them these bare necessitites of life, then what good is that? Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead." (James 2: 15 - 16)

One does not need to be a biblical scholar to appreciate what is being said here. Of course it means that if we are to be followers of Jesus and live the Christian belief then we have to be there in solidarity and empathy with those who are weak and fragile.

Surely all our praying has to be about putting us in touch with God and being in touch with God is inseparably linked with being people-orientated, especially those who are most in need of our support and love.

There can be no sense in separating prayer from our everyday experiences, anything else is a sort of aberration that has lost all meaning. Can the pomp and ceremony of liturgical prayer take on a life of its own that might well distract us from what we are about?

Jesus's entire ministry was people-centred becasue it was God centred.

My two walking incidents might well be considered trifling. You know, they are not at all. I have always said when it comes to the real things that matter I would be unworthy to tie the shoes of my parents.

Christianity, above all else, is about loving and respecting other people. Our prayer should help us in that task. That's what all our prayer is about: loving God and our neighbour.

Frightening words of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King - the appalling
silence of good people

Justice Minister Alan Shatter, opening a conference to mark the centenary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish doplomat, who saved the lives of more than 50,000 Hungarian Jews from the death camps, quoted Martin Luther King: " The greatest tragedy of this generation which history will record is not the vitriolic words of those who hate, or the aggressive acts of others, but the appalling silence of the good people."

In the context of the years of my lifetime, the Ireland in which I have lived and the work that I have done, they are indeed frightening words.

Audit comment draws large readership

It's interesting how the readership of this blog soared in the days immediately after the publication of the church audit, which included the Irish Dominican Province.

An environment of 'unusual secrecy' which seems to have been part of the oxygen that allowed so much wrongdoing and pain to take place within the church, seems to be still evident today.

There seems to be an ingrained 'belief' that if one is 'secret' about something, he is not letting the side down. It's akin to a sophisticated version of the 'Kerry cute hoor'.

And mixed with that is all the sneering and jeering that goes on. That 'clerical gossip' that is alomst impossible to avoid.

So, in many ways nothing at all is changing within the hierarchical church. The question might well be; how long will it be till another scandal 'breaks'. It my have nothing at all to do with child sex abuse.

Of course there is a place for and need of secrecy but surely there must be something wrong with the attitude towards 'secrecy' that can be so easily felt and sensed in the church.

Closure on audit topic - for now

On good advice a post has been removed from this blog.

For the moment there will be no further discussion on the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholc Church in Ireland Report, which was published on Wednesday.

Too many people have suffered, so often covered up in the name of spoof and humbug.

There will, no doubt, be an opportune time to tell the story - unabridged.

Blog post removed by author

There was a blog posted on this blogsite earlier today. It has been removed by the author.

A story of spoof wrapped in nonsense

In the next days it is hoped to tell on this blog the story of 'Fr Y' - at least some of it - what is known to this writer.

NBSCCCI report published today

It is disturbing this day to hear church figures talk about child sex abuse.

This same church speaks with such 'authority' and certitude on the values of celibacy. Please.

In the next days there will be comment on this blog on the audit that has been published today by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland with specific reference to the Irish province of the Dominican Order.

"What can you do for the church?"

The final sentence in the Martini interview is: "I have a question for you: "What can you do for the Church?"

This is my personal response. I ask that members of religious orders and congregations begin an honest attempt at talking to each other using real words that have meaning and honesty to them.

That people in position of 'leadership' stop hiding behind the words of expensive legal teams.

That we all develop an ability to listen to those who are different.

The stories behind the pictures and words

There is a photograph in the current issue of The Irish Catholic of a priest, dressed in liturgical vestments, giving Communion to a little girl. It seems the little girl is about to kneel. The picture seems to be taken in a field or garden.

In a publication of a religious order, the provinical is referred to as the 'boss'.

What would the late Cardinal Martini think of these two moements in time?

Martini's sensational words

Below is the Cardinal Martini Interview
How do you see the situation of the Church?

The Church is tired, in prosperous Europe and in America. Our culture is out of date; our Churches are big; our religious houses are empty, and the Churches bureaucratic apparatus is growing, and our rites and our vestments are pompous.

Do such things really express what we are today? ... Prosperity weighs us down.

We find ourselves like the rich young man who went away sad when Jesus called him to become his disciple. I know that it’s not easy to leave everything behind.

At least could we seek people who are free and closer to their neighbors, as Bishop Romero was and the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador? Where among us are heroes to inspire us? We must never limit them by institutional bonds.
Who can help the Church today?

Fr Karl Rahner liked to use the image of embers hidden under ashes. I see in the Church today so many ashes above the embers that I’m often assailed by a sense of powerlessness. How can the embers be freed from the ashes in order to rekindle the flame of love?

First of all, we have to look for those embers. Where are the individuals full of generosity, like the Good Samaritan? Who have faith like that of the Roman centurion? Who are as enthusiastic as John the Baptist?

Who dare new things, as Paul did? Who are faithful as Mary Magdalene was? I advise the Pope and the bishops to look for twelve people outside the lines for administrative posts [posti direzionali] – people who are close to the poorest and who are surrounded by young people and are trying out new things. We need that comparison with people who are burning so that the spirit can spread everywhere.

What means do you advise against the Church’s weariness?

I have three important ones to mention. The first is conversion: the Church has to recognise its own errors and has to travel a radical journey of change, beginning with the Pope and the bishops.

The scandals of pedophilia are driving us to undertake a journey of conversion. Questions about sexuality and all the themes involving the body are an example of this. They are important for everyone, at times they’re also too important. In this area is the Church is still a point of reference or only a caricature in the media?

The second is the Word of God. Vatican II restored the Bible to Catholics. ... Only someone who receives this Word in his heart can be among those who will help the renewal of the Church and will know how to respond to personal questions wisely.

The Word of God is simple and seeks as its companion a heart that is listening. ... Neither the clergy nor Church law can substitute for a person’s inwardness. All the external rules, the laws, the dogmas were given to us in order to clarify the inner voice and to discern the spirits.

For whom are the sacraments? They are the third means of healing. The sacraments are not a disciplinary instrument, but a help for people at moments on their journey and when life makes them weak. Are we bringing the sacraments to those who need a new strength? I’m thinking of all the divorced people and couples who have remarried and extended families. They need a special protection.

The Church maintains the indissolubility of marriage. It is a grace when a marriage and a family succeed.

The attitude we take toward extended families will determine whether their children come near to the Church. A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion who is concerned for her and her three children. The second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not only the woman, but her children, too, will be cut off. If the parents feel external to the Church and do not experience its support, the Church will lose the future generation.

Before Communion we pray: “Lord, I am not worthy … ” We know we are unworthy. Love is grace. Love is a gift.

The question whether the divorced can receive Communion would have to be turned upside down. How can the Church come to the aid of complex family situations with the power of the sacraments?

What do you do personally?

The Church is two hundred years behind. Why is it not being stirred? Are we afraid? Afraid instead of courageous? Faith is the Church’s foundation – faith, confidence, courage.

I’m old and ill and depend on the help of others. The good people around me enable me to experience love. This love is stronger than the feeling of discouragement that I sometimes feel in looking at the Church in Europe.

Only love conquers weariness. God is Love.

I have a question for you: “What can you do for the Church?”

Even cardinals are beginning to speak out

When an Italian cardinal makes wry comments about cassocks and all the other nonsense then surely it is time for people to listen and take action.

What's happening in the church has nothing to do with Gospel values but so much to do with the bahaviour of men with serious sexual issues.

Martini criticises the clerical arrogance

What follows is taken from Reuters.

The former archbishop of Milan and papal candidate Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said the Catholic Church was "200 years out of date" in his final interview before his death, published on Saturday.

Martini, once favoured by Vatican progressives to succeed Pope John Paul II and a prominent voice in the church until his death at the age of 85 on Friday, gave a scathing portrayal of a pompous and bureaucratic church failing to move with the times.

"Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous," Martini said in the interview published in Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

"The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops. The pedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation," he said in the interview.

In the last decade the Church has been accused of failing to address fully a series of child abuse scandals which have undermined its status as a moral arbiter, though it has paid many millions in compensation settlements worldwide.

Martini, famous for comments that the use of condoms could be acceptable in some cases, told interviewers the Church should open up to new kinds of families or risk losing its flock.

"A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion to look after her and her children. A second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not just the mother will be cut off but also her children."

Names tell stories about their writers

Breda O'Brien in her article in yesterday's Irish Times writes on the abortion subject.

When she refers to TD Clare Daly on the first occasion she calls the Dublin TD 'Clare Daly TD'. Every reference after that is simply 'Daly'.

All references to the Archbishop of Dublin are either Archbishop Diarmuid Martin or Dr Martin.

It's the small things that tell the reader so much.

RTE reporter breaks all the rules

In an RTE report on Radio1 this morning on the current US football visitors to Ireland, the reporter commented that many of them went to Mass this morning and then added, 'believe it or not'.

Is it not the job of a journalist to report the news? It is not his/her job to make editorial commenrt.

Court appearance five days before installation

Archbishop elect of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone is scheduled to be installed in the archdiocese on October 4, five days before his first court date.

Archbishop elect on drink driving charge

The archbishop elect of San Francisco's comments about his drunk driving episode are below.

Had the archbishop not been apprehended would he have spoken about the wisdom of God?

It is becoming more laughable every day.

Will the Papal Nunico in Ireland when 'appointing' new bishops take into consideration the drinking habits of the candidates?

The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco issued an apology Monday for his drunk-driving arrest in San Diego, which he said brought shame and disgrace on himself and the church.


"I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself," the Rev. Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement. "I pray that God in His inscrutable wisdom will bring some good out of this."

Cordileone was arrested shortly after midnight Saturday at a drunk-driving checkpoint near San Diego State University. After failing a breath test, he was arrested and booked into county jail. He was released before noon after posting $2,500 bond.

In his statement, Cordileone said he was driving home after having dinner with his mother and several friends.

The 56-year-old priest is now bishop of Oakland and is set to be installed as San Francisco archbishop October 4. He is set to appear in court Oct. 9. He was selected to be San Francisco archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI to replace the retiring Archbishop George Niederauer.



Cordileone is a native of San Diego, where he was a priest and then auxiliary bishop. San Diego police said Cordileone was cooperative during the arrest and did not seek any special privileges.

Unification realities make Germans wary of bailout toll

It is often argued that Germany never forgets the damage that the inflation of the 1920s caused and is therefore permanently frightend of the spectre of hyperinflation. In the article belpw, which appears in today's Irish Times the author points out that the unification of Germany created new scars and new worries that have great revelance in the current euro zone crisis.

By PETRA GERLACH-KRISTEN

MANY FEEL that Germany is dragging its feet in resolving the euro-area crisis because of a deep-rooted fear of inflation that stems from the experiences of German hyperinflation in 1923.

It is suggested that old fears are being rekindled by the idea that debt could be monetised again, this time on a European scale. While that may or may not be true, there is a much more recent experience that arguably matters more: German unification.

Unification in 1990 brought in the union between the internationally competitive, democratic west Germany and the economically weak east.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall caused general euphoria and led to a faster unification than pure economics might have suggested. The German mark was introduced in the German Democratic Republic in July 1990, merely eight months after the fall of the wall, and legal union followed in October.

However, the two states thus united were marked by large imbalances, to use today’s favourite expression. Per capita income in the east was about half that of the west, and unemployment was much higher. The German Agency for Labour put the unemployment rate in the east at 14.4 per cent in 1992. In the west, it was 6.4 per cent.

It was an open question at the time how the former east Germans would get used to the western market economy and the smaller role of the state in a capitalist society. However, the sense that the east Germans were Germans and would adjust fast was pervasive.

Accordingly, economic forecasts at the time were marked by optimism. German chancellor Helmut Kohl predicted that the eastern regions would become “blooming landscapes” before long. Of course, we know today that the adjustment has been slow and often painful, in the east and in the west.

Income in the east today still is more than 20 per cent below that in the west.

Unemployment at over 10 per cent is twice that in the west, and the age structure in the east has deteriorated sharply, with massive emigration of the young and well-educated towards the west.

Surveys show that the majority of the former GDR population feels disadvantaged in terms of income. One-third think that east and west will never become fully unified.

The population in the old west, by contrast, has borne, and still is bearing, the financial cost of the unification. The German CESifo group estimates that the net transfers from west to east have topped €1.6 trillion. That exceeds by far the original estimates of the costs of the union: the original fund for the German unification had been allotted €60 billion.

There are two big lessons Germans have taken away from unification. The first is that initial cost estimates were far too low. The bulk of the expense has come from automatic transfers, in particular social welfare spending. This is due to the fact that, compared with the west, the former east Germany takes in little in taxes and is faced with high pension and unemployment payments.

While the current efforts to end the euro crisis focus on loans, not one-sided transfers, it has not escaped Germans that the conditionalities attached to these loans imply an ever-closer integration of the euro area. A close fiscal union might bring automaticities in social spending similar to those in Germany’s recent history. Many Germans remain to be convinced that the pattern in tax receipts and government spending has changed permanently in the crisis countries.

They worry that the rescue funds discussed today will again turn out to have been only the tip of the iceberg.

The second lesson is that similarities between west and east were overestimated – even 22 years after unification, the two are still clearly distinct.

Politically, the old GDR’s landscape differs from that of the west, with far-left and far-right parties finding sizable support. And economically and socially, the idea that its industrious citizens would turn the former GDR quickly into a mirror image of western Germany has proved wrong.

Of course, it is not opportune politically to point out these differences, which helps explain why the experience of unification does not feature in the official discussion of how to end the euro-zone crisis.

Privately, however, Germans are acutely aware of the slow adjustment in the east. This feeds their fear that the crisis countries’ ability to reform is being overestimated as well.

Obviously, the EU member states in difficulty are market economies and thus more similar to western Germany than the old east was.
Nevertheless, many Germans wonder whether it will be possible to restore competitiveness and thus decrease unemployment. And if so, how fast? And beyond economics, can one expect the support for non-centre parties to decline? Unification has taught the Germans to be wary of high hopes.

Petra Gerlach-Kristen is associate research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute

Limburg bishops then and now

The current Bishop of Limburg is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-bishop-of-limburg-triggers-uproar-with-luxurious-lifestyle-a-851707.html

The letter below was written by a predecessor of his, Dr Hilfrich to the Minister for Justice on August 13, 1941.

"Regarding the report submitted on July 16 by the Chairman of the Fulda Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Dr Bertram, I consider it my duty to present the following as a concrete illustration of destruction of so-called "useless life."

About eight kilometers from Limburg, in the little town of Hadamar, on a hill overlooking the town, there is an institution which had formerly served various purposes and of late had been used as a nursing home; this institution was renovated and furnished as a place in which, by consensus of opinion, the above mentioned euthanasia has been systematically practiced for months-approximately since February 1941. The fact has become known beyond the administrative district of Wiesbaden, because death certificates from a Registry Hadamar-Moenchberg are sent to the home communities. (Moenchberg is the name of this institution because it was a Franciscan monastery prior to its secularisation in 1803.)

Several times a week buses arrive in Hadamar with a considerable number of such victims. School children of the vicinity know this vehicle and say:" There comes the murder-box again." After the arrival of the vehicle, the citizens of Hadamar watch the smoke rise out of the chimney and are tortured with the ever-present thought, of the miserable victims, especially when repulsive odors annoy them, depending on the direction of the wind. The effeet of the principles at work here are: Children call each other names and say," You're crazy ; you'll be sent to the baking oven in Hadamar." Those who do not want to marry, or find no opportunity, say," Marry, never! Bring children into the world so they can be put into the bottling machine!" You hear old folks say, "Don't send me to a state hospital! After the feeble-minded have been finished off, the next useless eaters whose turn will come are the old people."

All God-fearing men consider this destruction of helpless beings as crass injustice. And if anybody says that Germany cannot win the war, if there is yet a just God, these expressions are not the result of a lack of love of fatherland but of a deep concern for our people. The population cannot grasp that systematic actions are carried out which in accordance with Par. 211 of the German criminal code are punishable with death! High authority as a moral concept has suffered a severe shock as a result of these happenings. The official notice that N. N. had died of a contagious disease and that for that reason his body has to be burned, no longer finds credence, and such official notices which are no longer believed have further undermined the ethical value of the concept of authority.

Officials of the Secret State Police, it is said, are trying to suppress discussion of the Hadamar occurrences by means of severe threats. In the interest of public peace, this may be well intended. But the knowledge and the conviction and the indignation of the population cannot be changed by it; the conviction will be increased with the bitter realization that discussion is prohibited with threats but that the actions themselves are not prosecuted under penal law.

Facta loquuntur.

I beg you most humbly, Herr Reich Minister, in the sense of the report of the Episcopate of July 16 of this year, to prevent further transgressions of the Fifth Commandment of God.

Dr. Hilfrich

I am submitting copies of this letter to the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Minister for Church Affairs. [initialled by the above]

Free fares and plenty of silly guff

The column below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.

By Michael Commane
I had an appointment in Tralee on Friday at 3.15pm. It meant taking the 11.00 rail service from Dublin Heuston. Its schedule arrival time in Tralee was 2.58pm. It would take me less than 10 minutes to walk to the venue.

The train was full. There was a large number of senior citizens on the train, which meant they were availing of their free travel passes.

Somewhere south of Sallins I overheard an elderly lady talking about her holiday in the Caribbean to be quickly corrected by the man beside her, saying that they had been in the Canaries.

The train arrived on time in Mallow, where passengers for Tralee changed trains. The Tralee train was due to leave Mallow at 1.30pm. It was a relatively new train - a South Korean built rail car. Anyone who uses the Dublin Cork railway will have noticed that in recent years Irish Rail has built a dedicated workshop south of Portlaoise, which is dedicated to servicing this fleet of rail cars.

It was 1.30 and the train was still at the platform. People were standing on the train. The seat reservation digital display system was out of order so passengers who had no reservations were sitting in seats that most probably were booked. Others with bookings were standing and annoyed. The doors of the train were closed and the air conditioning was not working.

1.45 and still not a move. People were beginning to get 'edgy'. Sitting opposite me were a German couple. They were obviously going on a walking holiday in south Kerry. They were reading their holiday guide and a book on walking tours.

Circa 1.50 the driver did tell us that there was a problem with the braking system on the train. Modern trains use an air brake that requires the brakes building up air in the system. Our train was not managing to do that so there was no way we could move off.

At about 2pm people were beginning to get more agitated and the woman who mistook the Canaries for the Caribbean was talking about calling the Joe Duffy Show to explain her plight on the stationary train.

Sometime about 2.10 Irish Rail decided that our train was going nowhere and buses arrived to bring passengers to Tralee and all the intermediate stations.

The German couple opposite me took it in their stride and as the woman was getting off the train she commented in a friendly and nice way that it could happen anywhere. And off the two of them went to the bus with not a bother on them. The Irish lady with the free travel pass was greatly agitated and giving out hell that this could only happen in Ireland and that probably all the bosses at Irish Rail are living in colossal houses and never use the train but travel about in their big company cars.

It was now approximately 2.20 and I decided that there was no way I could get to Tralee on time for my appointment and made the decision to return on the next up train back to Heuston.

Irish Rail could not have been more pleasant and caring. They supplied me with a complimentary single ticket back to Dublin and assured me that the company would listen to my case when I explained to the them that I had missed my appointment.

Of course the State has an obligation to care for its citizens, to see to it that there are adequate health, educational, social facilities available for all its citizens. But it did cross my mind on that stationary train in

Mallow it's hardly a God-given right that the State is obliged to ferry pensioners all over the country for free, especially if you have spent the last few weeks in the Caribbean, or even the Canaries.

A special word of thanks to the Station Master in Mallow and the ticket agent. If I had one quibble with Irish Rail it would be; how safe is it to run passenger trains with no Irish Rail personnel travelling on the train?

Commiseration to the Irish Rail personnel at the platform, who had to listen to loads of silly guff from a number of Irish passengers holding free travel passes.

The void between Bonn and Berlin

On Gunther Jauch this evening journalist Wolfgang Herles made the comment that Angela Merkel really knew nothing about the Bonner Republik.

An important observation.

Dolan should not give the 'blessing'

It has been announced that Archbishop Timothy Dolan is to give a 'blessing' at the upcoming Republican Party convention.

This is a shocking development. He argues that this does not mean that he is supporting the party. Would the archbishop attend a meeting of one of many groups of people he condemns and give a 'blessing'?

Is someone, somewhere within the Catholic Church going to be brave and shout stop at the current tendency.

Has the world not suffered enough under German authoritarian behaviour in the last 100 years?

And the so-called certainty of their behaviour.

This can have nothing to do with the message of the Gospel.