Cardinal Schönborn remembers the enormous guilt of Austria
During a visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Cardinal Schönborn on Thursday morning remembered the "enormous guilt" of Austria and the Church in this country. "We stand here with great concern," said Schönborn, on behalf of the 15 members of the Bishops' Conference, who have been in the Holy Land since Sunday.
"We are here as bishops of the country, in which Adolf Hitler's insane ideas were learned," said the Archbishop of Vienna. It begs the question of where God was, "as women and children, and elderly men were sent to the gas chambers." Humans will never have a convincing answer and in the final analysis the question should be addressed to ourselves: "Where was man - and where humanity, as our brothers and sisters has such terrible things inflicted on them?" The Nazi era was a time of profound distance from God ". The era shows also the hell into which a 'world without God' can fall.
The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem shows amid a sea of failure and guilt a light of hope. It tells us: Even in the darkness of the Shoah, there were people - even Christians who opposed the bestiality . Even though in this Avenue in a number of Austrian names are listed - it was too few, far too few righteous, "said the cardinal.
Cathcon: I have seen in family documents a piece of paper excusing someone from washing pavements as he was a senior doctor. It would have been worthless in the event that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Archbishop also recalled that the visit to Yad Vashem took place on the eve of the commemoration of the November of the year 1938. This memorial in Jerusalem shows the full extent of "what already become clear in that terrible night of fire and murder and what was able to develop to incalculable levels because of human weakness, cowardice and fear.
"We are here as bishops of the country, in which Adolf Hitler's insane ideas were learned," said the Archbishop of Vienna. It begs the question of where God was, "as women and children, and elderly men were sent to the gas chambers." Humans will never have a convincing answer and in the final analysis the question should be addressed to ourselves: "Where was man - and where humanity, as our brothers and sisters has such terrible things inflicted on them?" The Nazi era was a time of profound distance from God ". The era shows also the hell into which a 'world without God' can fall.
The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem shows amid a sea of failure and guilt a light of hope. It tells us: Even in the darkness of the Shoah, there were people - even Christians who opposed the bestiality . Even though in this Avenue in a number of Austrian names are listed - it was too few, far too few righteous, "said the cardinal.
Cathcon: I have seen in family documents a piece of paper excusing someone from washing pavements as he was a senior doctor. It would have been worthless in the event that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Archbishop also recalled that the visit to Yad Vashem took place on the eve of the commemoration of the November of the year 1938. This memorial in Jerusalem shows the full extent of "what already become clear in that terrible night of fire and murder and what was able to develop to incalculable levels because of human weakness, cowardice and fear.
Cathcon:The Cardinal is being unfair on his own Church. For the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary in October 1938, the then Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna said this, having realised his epic mistake of welcoming the Anschluss.
"Meine liebe katholische Jugend Wiens, wir wollen gerade jetzt in dieser Zeit umso fester und standhafter unseren Glauben bekennen, uns zu Christus bekennen, unserem Führer, unserem König und zu seiner Kirche."
"My dear Catholic Youth of Vienna, we want right now at this time, more firmly and staunchly to profess our faith, we are committed to Christ, our leader, our king and to his Church."
Calling Jesus Christ, the Führer got the Palace of the Archbishop trashed by Hitler Youth 24 hours later.
Cardinal Innitzer in 1933
"Greater hatred between brothers is the result of taking leave of God."
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