Cardinal Clemens August von Galen (1878-1946), bishop of Munster, Germany, was beatified today at the Vatican, a step toward his sainthood. Cardinal von Galen spoke out boldly against the culture of death that was Nazi Germany. In particular, he denounced the Nazi euthanasia program that killed many sick and disabled persons.
If you establish and apply the principle that you can kill 'unproductive' fellow human beings then woe betide us all when we become old and frail! If one is allowed to kill the unproductive people then woe betide the invalids who have used up, sacrificed and lost their health and strength in the productive process. If one is allowed forcibly to remove one's unproductive fellow human beings then woe betide loyal soldiers who return to the homeland seriously disabled, as cripples, as invalids. If it is once accepted that people have the right to kill 'unproductive' fellow humans--and even if initially it only affects the poor defenseless mentally ill--then as a matter of principle murder is permitted for all unproductive people, in other words for the incurably sick, the people who have become invalids through labor and war, for us all when we become old, frail and therefore unproductive.
Then, it is only necessary for some secret edict to order that the method developed for the mentally ill should be extended to other 'unproductive' people, that it should be applied to those suffering from incurable lung disease, to the elderly who are frail or invalids, to the severely disabled soldiers. Then none of our lives will be safe any more. Some commission can put us on the list of the 'unproductive,' who in their opinion have become worthless life. And no police force will protect us and no court will investigate our murder and give the murderer the punishment he deserves.
Who will be able to trust his doctor any more?
Blessed Cardinal van Galen's words have an ominous relevance to our society today. Let's pray that leaders in the Church and society today follow his courageous example and speak out in defense of life.
3 comments:
Thanks! I tried to open your site, but it wasn't available. Maybe later.
My great-grandfather Ferdinand was Cardinal von Galen's uncle. I'm trying to find out of if he does reach sainthood, is there a ceremony I can attend and how I found out about it in advance.
Canonizations are usually carried out by the Pope in a public ceremony at St. Peter's, and usually follow beatification by several years (sometimes longer). I would suggest occasionally checking the Vatican web site and other leading Catholic news sites and search engines for annoucements.
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