06 febrero 2009

Some Comments to a Michael Gerson’s Editorial Article

Mr. Michael John Gerson, Op- Ed for the Washington Post, is a well known personage in the United States who served as Chief Speechwriter and Senior Policy Advisor to former President George W. Bush, during his second period. He also belongs to the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), considered the most influential organization orienting the United States foreign policy (it also publishes the renowned journal Foreign Affairs). He was a member of the White House Irak Group, responsible for selling or making potable the ominous invasion of Irak, to the taxpayers. Mr. Gerson also is a Christian and once -believe it or not- was considered among the 25 most influential Evangelicals in the United States. A heck of an editorial journalist… Today, he published “A Holocaust Denier at the Church Door” which I feel the obligation to comment, in boldface, after each of his article’s paragraphs.

A Holocaust Denier at the Church Door”, by Michael Gerson, February 6, 2009

I recall sitting at a Kigali restaurant with a Tutsi woman who described the death of her younger sister, a university student, during the Rwandan genocide. The girl had been given up for murder by one of her own teachers, who was a nun. The survivor across from me, previously a Catholic, had never attended church again. In the sacrifice of the Mass, she could see only the sacrifice of her sister. This is my personal and objective opinion about this point: priests, nuns, and other church representatives are, simply, humans, like ourselves, and act like that. Confronted to worst-than-animals like those of the Hutus militia, that poor nun reacted with deep terror. I recall those tragic days to humanity and wrote two articles in this blog (Terrorismo, flagelo de la humanidad, May 19, 2006; Un Mundo Realmente Feliz, May 19, 2006), inspired in this sad episode. We have to think with deep honesty what we had done, subjected to that kind of horror, if we were in their shoes. Probably the same, in order to save our own necks. The thing is that, as these religion representatives (no matter if Catholics or Protestants or whatever) react with fear sacrificing others to save themselves, I know that there were others with enough courage to sacrifice themselves to save many others. The same apply to normal citizens. I'm not justifying those actions (they are not justifiable), I'm just trying to understand them under the umbrella of human instinct. It had nothing to do with religion. For journalists like Mr. Gerson is easy to judge the actions of those people and blame religion or GOD for the atrocities that resulted from their human decisions.

Many items on the list of horribles laid at the door of religion are libels or exaggerations. But this charge -- the indifference or complicity of many Christians during the great genocides of modern history -- is one of the genuine scandals. Is Mr. Gerson an offended Jewish radical supporter? He must remember that no one is free of mistakes and errors. As Jesus said to the hypocrites in Jerusalem, almost 2,000 years ago, when they wanted to stone the adulterous woman (with whom many of them -especially the elders- had, in turn, committed adultery), to test Him: "the one who is free of sins, be the one to throw the first stone". One by one, they dismissed, profoundly ashamed (see the post Palabras Al Viento in this blog -June 26, 2006- about this beautiful biblical passage). When you spit upwards, the saliva falls over your own face (this is a bad translation of a famous popular saying). Still, many people do not comprehend the deep teaching lying under this saying...

In Hitler's Germany, Christians responded to mass murder with general acquiescence and only isolated defiance. Protestants earned the most shame. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church elections of 1932, so-called "German Christians" won two-thirds of the vote -- and later praised the fight "against the political and spiritual influence of the Jewish race." Catholic leaders were less overt in their anti-Semitism but hardly heroic in their resistance -- usually accommodating rather than confronting the Nazi regime. "Charity is well and good," said one Vatican official at the time, "but the greatest charity is not to make problems for the church." At the same time, who toppled the Nazi regime to put an end to the Holocaust? An alliance of countries who believe in GOD, no matter the orientation of their faith (Catholics, Protestants, Orthodoxy, etc.). Religions or GOD aren't responsible for the Holocaust, it is the human nature to be blamed for this tragedy or praised for the ending of that nonsense massacre. Human history is full of these episodes. Extremist Muslims have also killed thousands of innocent people in the name of GOD, but this does not mean that all Muslims are to be blamed for these crimes or that GOD approves them. Are today and future germans to be blamed for Hitler's (his troops and civilian supporters) crimes against Jews? Many hypocrites (including some political advisors) -hiding under a sheep's skin- have done the same or worst.

During the Rwandan genocide, writes Timothy Longman, "Numerous priests, pastors, nuns, brothers, catechists and Catholic and Protestant lay leaders supported, participated in, or helped to organize the killings." Two Benedictine nuns collaborated with Hutu militias in the murder of 7,000 people just outside their convent grounds. A priest participated in the burning and bulldozing of a church with 2,000 men, women and children inside. More of the same. Probably, there were heroic religion representatives as well but we don't know. Again, it's not who they represent it's their human nature, and religions or GOD are not to be blamed. At the rise of Christianity, Jews and Romans sacrificed not thousands but millions of Christians in the name of pagan gods, in the name of our true GOD or, simply, for amusement.

It is very difficult to understand how those who worship a man on a cross could help to drive the bloody nails themselves. But the record is clear: When religion is infected by racism, ideology or extreme nationalism, it can become a carrier of hatred instead of conscience. And when churches are concerned mainly with their institutional self-preservation, they often end up neck-deep in compromise or paralyzed by cowardice. Again and again: it's not difficult to understand this if we think that the actors were nothing but human beings. We have to separate religion or GOD from these acts. They were not carried out by religions or by GOD. I think that Mr. Gerson is throwing soil over religion, especially Christianity and GOD, with cheap rhetoric garbage. What dubious interests may he has behind this facade? Can he honestly speak of racism, ideology, and institutional self-preservation? These terms recall me the absurd maintenance of the economical and geopolitical hegemony of some powerful nations against hunger, misery, and lack of opportunities in the poor countries they take advantage of. Is he so ignorant, insensible or incapable to think in the right direction?

This is the historical context for the Catholic Church's recent lifting of the excommunication against Richard Williamson, a bishop of the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X. Williamson claimed last month, "I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against, is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler. . . . I believe there were no gas chambers." Again: this was a very unfortunate and unjustifiable comment for a high or low ranked representative of the Catholic Church (a bishop, in this case) or from any other religion. There is plenty of evidence of Hitler's gas chambers and that it was a very well planned conspiracy against Jews, and a crime against humanity. The bishop must certainly knows well that -after GOD- all human beings are the same, no matter if they are Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, etc.. What moved him to say this? I don't know, the Catholic Church is not oriented to make public comments on this type of things because it is worst but, internally, they certainly know how to handle problems. Some journalists are like starving crocodiles waiting for fresh meat to reach their horrible and stinking muzzles. Again, Catholic Church is not to be blamed for this, for GOD's Sake! Probably, Mr. Gerson is an offended member of a USA Jewish supporting community...who is pouring his bile. Jews are not unblemished or immaculate, they also have committed very ugly crimes and abuses and, however, have been tolerated by the international community. The same for extremists Muslims or whatever religion. All of them are, simply, humans, with few virtues and many defects.

There is no reason to believe that Pope Benedict XVI has backtracked on the admirable Catholic engagement of the Jewish community under John Paul II. Benedict was obviously distressed and surprised by the Williamson controversy, using his audience last week to affirm his "full and indisputable solidarity" with Jews. This is very good! His attempted reconciliation with dissidents such as Williamson was intended to be a statement about church unity, not about Holocaust history. This is pure speculation...

But it was a large, insensitive error. The Vatican admitted that Williamson's Holocaust denial was "unknown to the Holy Father at the time he revoked the excommunication." Not only the Obama administration struggles with an incompetent vetting process. Speculation again... Pure gossip... Catholic Church, although ruled by men and women, is very ancient (almost 2,000 years old) and experienced (good and bad experiences) to commit this type of childish errors. There are strict established protocols and procedures to observe, for everything. There's an old and rich history and traditions behind this Institution...

The stakes of such failure, however, are higher for the Vatican. Christianity -- still accused by the anger of genocide survivors and haunted by the unquiet ghosts of Auschwitz and Kigali -- cannot tolerate leaders who deny the Holocaust without adding to its greatest scandal and further discrediting its deepest ideals. Bla, bla, bla... This sounds like a barricade discourse of a mediocre political leader who desperately wants to gain some protagonism or someone who wants to discredit Catholic Church due to personal and evil interests...

Benedict has ended up at the right place, demanding that Williamson recant his statements. But serious damage has been done because the wounds are so recent and the historical offense so massive. More nonsense and bla, bla, bla...

While Christian resistance to the Holocaust was rare, there were exceptions. Bernhard Lichtenberg, the provost of St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, was convicted of violating the Sedition Law after two parishioners informed on him to the Nazis (Mr. Gerson is only focused on Catholic Church and Christianity, what would his interests be?). The judge summed up his crime as follows: "On 29 August 1941, the defendant held evensong . . . before a large congregation. He closed the service with a prayer in which he said, among other things: 'Let us now pray for the Jews and for the wretched prisoners in the concentration camps.' . . . He states that he has included the Jews in his prayers ever since the synagogues were first set on fire and Jewish businesses closed."

Lichtenberg served two years in prison and died on the way to Dachau. A church dedicated to his ideals cannot be the church of Bishop Williamson. Like him, there were many other valiant Christians who save thousands of Jewish people, offering their freedom and even their lives. Mr. Gerson should know that hatred should not be confronted with hatred. That tolerance, good will and common sense should overcome religious and all types of fanatism, in order to bring a lasting peace to this world, especially the Middle East, including Israel. Intolerance and lack of concern for others are the cause of most of human disgraces…

1 comentario:

Anónimo dijo...

I for all time emailed this webpage post page to all my associates, for the reason that if like to read it next my friends will too.



Also visit my weblog; cat