No Apology for Abortion-Holocaust Comparison but Regrets because of Misinterpretation
Jan 15, 2005
A press release clarifying the abortion-holocaust comparison made by German Cardinal Joachim Meisner in a recent homily has been taken for an apology. However, there was no apology for the comparison made but only an expressed regret that the comments were misinterpreted.
COLOGNE, January 12, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Several news organizations ran with headlines such as ‘German Catholic Leader Apologizes for Abortion-Holocaust Comparisons’, ‘Archbishop regrets comparing abortion to Holocaust’, ‘Bishop sorry for abortion, Holocaust comparison’. However, nowhere in the release from the archdiocese does the Archbishop of Cologne suggest that the comparison was inaccurate.
The Cardinal’s German-language release clarifies that the statement he made in a January 6 homily stating that “first there was Herod, who ordered the children of Bethlehem to be killed, then there was Hitler and Stalin among others, and today unborn children are being killed in their millions.” The release notes that the quotation came in the midst of explaining that “When man makes himself Lord over life, others lose their lives.”
In his sermon the Cardinal said that since God is the only Lord of life, when man does not recognize he is not the center of the universe, or see and accept his limitations, attacks on life such as the holocaust and abortion take place. He noted that “Abortion and Euthanasia are the results of these arrogant revolts against God,” and offences against the first commandment.
The original statement was attacked vehemently by pro-abortion political parties but also by Jewish groups, one of which went so far as to threaten a lawsuit against the Cardinal. The president of the Central Council for Jews in Germany, Paul Spiegel, claimed the cardinal had “insulted” the millions of victims of the Holocaust and that he was considering taking the matter to court.
Condemnation came even from groups some may have expected to be onside. The ecumenical movement “Initiative Kirche” told the press, “Meisner has completely lost his authority as a bishop and has publicly done a great wrong to the Catholic Church and to dialogue between Jews and Christians."
In the release, Cardinal Meisner said, “If I would even have suspected that my reference to Hitler could have been so misunderstood, I would have omitted it. I am sorry that it came to this.” He allowed that in the documentation of the sermon the reference to Hitler’s name would be omitted. Therefore the comparisons between Herod’s killing of the innocents at the time of Christ, and Stalin’s war crimes, to abortion would be retained. As would the point of the homily: “When man makes himself Lord over life, others lose their lives.”
The release also noted tragically: “Today, there exists nearly universal acceptance that man can decide on the right to life of unborn children.”
Pro-life leaders have suggested that the comparison between abortion and the other atrocities throughout history are not only appropriate but necessary. “In today’s relativistic times, it seems the only evil which still touches people whose hearts have grown cold are the atrocities of Hitler. The comparison not only fits like a glove, but is necessary to bring people out of their blissfully ignorant slumber,” Jim Hughes of the International Right to Life Federation told LifeSiteNews.com.
No Apology for Abortion-Holocaust Comparison but Regrets because of Misinterpretation