Belgium to Legalise Euthanasia for Children

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Belgium accused of "too much haste and too little fundamental debate" over controversial law extending euthanasia to children

Belgian MPs have been accused of "ideological stubbornness" by pressing ahead with a child euthanasia law that has divided doctors and "challenges the very basis of civilised society" according to critics.

Belgium's parliament is almost certain to pass legislation on Wednesday that will allow “terminally ill minors facing unbearable physical suffering” to undergo euthanasia if they request it.

Euthanasia has been legal for adults in Belgium for 11 years and according to the last annual figures 1,432 people were medically killed in 2012, usually after electing for a lethal injection administered by a doctor.

The extension of euthanasia to children, which enjoys the support of three-quarters of Belgians in opinion polls, has aroused intense opposition from many doctors and has united Belgium’s Christians, Jews and Muslims against the law.

Earlier this week a letter signed by 160 Belgian paediatricians asked MPs to “reflect” and not to rush the law onto the statute books, warning that children lacked “mature discernment” to choose euthanasia. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Leonetti : «Il est inutile et dangereux d'introduire dans la loi l'exception d'euthanasie»
LE FIGARO: Jean Leonetti, médecin, député maire d'Antibes, remet mardi à François Fillon le rapport parlementaire d'évaluation de la loi fin de vie de 2005, qui s'oppose une fois de plus à la légalisation de l'euthanasie. >>> | 2.12.2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Grand Duke of Luxembourg Will Lose His Veto

Photo of Gand Duke Henri of Luxembourg courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
Luxembourg's parliament looks ready to strip the Grand Duke of his last lawmaking power as a controversy over euthanasia comes to a head. One of Europe's last royals with political sway may lose his formal veto by taking a stand against a law legalizing euthanasia.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who has said he would interfere with a decision by parliament, will likely be stripped of his veto in a historic decision after a heated showdown over a bill to legalize euthanasia.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg protested the bill and threatened to kill it next week by refusing to sign it into law.

Since parliament is expected to pass the bill, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the Grande Duke has overstepped his role. Juncker personally opposes the euthanasia bill but says he will propose a change to the constitution to deny the Grand Duke his veto. His role by the end of 2008 could be reduced to rubber-stamping parliamentary decisions, instead of deciding whether to approve them.

"That means he will only technically enact laws," Juncker said, according to Reuters.

The euthanasia bill passed a first vote by parliament in February. It looks set to pass a second and final vote next week, but the Catholic Grand Duke announced on Tuesday -- in a closed-door meeting with leaders of Juncker's ruling Christian Socialists -- that he would refuse to enact the law.

His position tipped the tiny nation into the worst constitutional crisis in its history. The Luxembourg royal house has tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, when the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide refused to sign an education bill in 1912. >>> msm -- with wire reports | December 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>

Canada's Woke Nightmare: A Warning to the West | Documentary

Aug 29, 2023 | Under Justin Trudeau, Canada has sought to position itself as the global bastion of progressive politics. In my latest Telegraph documentary, seen above, I went to the former British colony to find out how Canadians are dealing with Trudeau’s radical reforms – from the promotion of gender ideology in schools and the mass legalisation of drugs, to his extreme new suicide laws and clamp downs on freedom of speech.

I began my investigation in one of the country’s most liberal cities, Vancouver. Possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, including heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, has been legalised in the city as part of a three-year experiment which began in January of this year. If the aim was to combat the opioid crisis that already beset the city, then it appears there is still much to be done as vast tent sites line the streets, patrolled by roaming zombie-like drug addicts.

As we filmed on Hastings Street, infamous as the epicentre of Vancouver’s homelessness crisis, I witnessed a topless man shoot a needle into his arm five feet from me. Though it wasn’t quite as bad as San Francisco, where my cameraman and I came under attack from angry vagrants, the scenes were still shocking.

It’s not just the homeless who patrol the streets of Vancouver. Chris Elston, better known online as Billboard Chris, campaigns against the imposition of gender ideology on children, whether through Canada’s education system or via dangerous operations to “transition” young adults. As his nickname suggests, Chris walks around Vancouver wearing signs protesting gender ideology, encouraging lively debates with passers-by which he puts on YouTube.

Chris kindly allowed our crew to join him on a walkabout, where we found many Canadians horrified by the use of puberty blockers in children and the promotion of biological men in women’s sports.

We did encounter some opposition of course, mostly through the odd shout or flicking of the finger. So much for Canadian politeness.

One aggressive gentleman, tall, ageing and angry, began a tirade against Chris with the rather bizarre singular message that he is “queer”.

Part of Canada’s social revolution can also be witnessed in its extreme new euthanasia laws. In 2016, the ruling Liberal Party passed legislation enabling assisted suicide for terminally ill Canadians. Next year the legislation will be expanded to include those with mental health problems. As Christianity declines across Canada, and the liberal obsession with “bodily autonomy” and “personal freedom” reaches its logical conclusion, a new dystopia is forming. As Dr Konia Trouton, a euthanasia advocate, told me, “We are an organised society but within that organisation we have to allow some freedoms and opportunities. This is not a communist system where we can try and reign that in”. The campaign group Euthanasia Prevention Coalition estimates that 13,500 people chose state-assisted suicide last year.

To prevent wokeism from spreading it is important to have a strong opposition party. Canada’s Conservatives have been historically weak in pushing back against Trudeau, however, their recently elected leader, Pierre Poilievre, has injected fresh energy into the party. Whilst there are some who still question Poillievre’s conservative credentials, his strategy seems to be working; one recent poll gave his party a twelve-point lead over Trudeau’s Liberals.

However, the most successful opponents to Canada’s social revolution have so far not been politicians but members of the public. Our film highlights some of these brave individuals, including Dr Jordan Peterson, perhaps the most high-profile Canadian in the world other than the country’s leader.

During my travels I found ordinary people appalled at Canada’s surrender to drug dealers, its contempt for freedom of speech, its enforcement of gender ideology on children and a breezy willingness to terminate the lives of its own citizens. However, for all the depressing stories of people losing their jobs, or being hounded by the government, these cases were equally inspirational. Whilst Canada is a warning to the West, there are also individual messages of hope from those brave individuals fighting for their freedom.

Pope Francis Denounces Euthanasia as 'Sin against God'

Pope Francis delivers his speech during a special audience he
held for members of Catholic medical associations

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope strongly condemns the 'right to die' movement, and warns against abortion, IVF and stem cell research

Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement on Saturday, saying that euthanasia is a sin against God and creation.

The Latin American pontiff said it was a “false sense of compassion” to consider euthanasia as an act of dignity.

Earlier this month, the Vatican’s top bioethics official condemned as “reprehensible” the death by assisted suicide of a 29-year-old American woman, Brittany Maynard, who was suffering terminal brain cancer and said she wanted to die with dignity.

“This woman (took her own life) thinking she would die with dignity, but this is the error,” said Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

“Suicide is ... a bad thing because it is saying no to life and to everything it means with respect to our mission in the world and towards those around us,” he said, describing assisted suicide as “an absurdity”. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Saturday, November 15, 2014

Portuguese Parliament Legalises Euthanasia after Long Battle

THE GUARDIAN: Decision to allow medically assisted dying has divided the deeply Catholic country

The Portuguese parliament, which had previously passed the euthanasia bill four times, only to see it sent back every time for a constitutional review due to opposition from the president.Photograph: Antonio Cotrim/EPA
After a long battle, Portugal passed a law on Friday legalising euthanasia for people in great suffering and with incurable diseases, joining just a handful of countries around the world.

The issue has divided the deeply Catholic country and was strongly opposed by conservative president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a devout churchgoer.

Under its provisions, people aged over 18 will be allowed to request assistance in dying if they are terminally ill and in intolerable suffering. It will only cover those suffering “lasting” and “unbearable” pain, unless they are deemed not to be mentally fit to make such a decision.

The law will be applicable only to nationals and legal residents and will not extend to foreigners coming into the country to seek assisted dying. » | AFP in Lisbon | Friday, May 12, 2023

Dutch Plan to Let Healthy Elderly People Commit Suicide
THE TELEGRAPH: Healthy elderly people who are simply "tired of living" could be allowed to end their lives with a lethal injection under new euthanasia laws being debated by the Dutch parliament.

The country's MPs will discuss the "right to die" proposals after a campaign forced a debate by collecting over 100,000 signatures in support.

The influential Dutch "Right to Die" campaign, active since 1973, has launched new "vrijwillig levenseinde", or "of free will" [sic] [ending one’s life voluntarily], demands to extend euthanasia beyond assisted suicide for terminally ill people.

The group has proposed training non-medical staff to administer a lethal injection to healthy people over the age of 70 who "consider their lives complete" and want to die.

Under the plans, the suicide assistants would be certified and would be required to make sure that patients were not temporarily depressed and had a "heartfelt and enduring desire" to die. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Google Refuses Australian Government Request to Censor YouTube
THE TELEGRAPH: Google has refused to bow to a request by the Australian government to censor videos on YouTube, saying the move would stifle public debate on important issues such as euthanasia and drug use.

Stephen Conroy, the communications minister, asked the search engine to "voluntarily" censor videos that fall within the government's broad new "refused classification" category.

However, Google said blocking access to videos in the category would lead to the removal of many politically controversial, but essentially harmless, clips.

The Australian government is preparing to introduce new legislation that will force internet service providers to block a blacklist of "refused classification" websites, in an attempt to clamp down on pornography and websites used by criminals.

YouTube's own guidelines already block videos featuring sex, violence, bestiality and child pornography. But under the "refused classification" rules, videos featuring subjects as diverse as euthanasia, drug use and graffiti, would also be banned.

Google said it would not voluntarily censor videos on these subjects because exposing the topics to public debate was vital for democracy.

Iarla Flynn, Google Australia's head of policy, said the company had a bias in favour of freedom of expression. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Thursday, February 11, 2010

Franklin Graham Condemns Obama's Guest List for Papal Welcome as 'Sinful'

CHRISTIAN POST: White House Invitation to Transgender Activists, Gay Bishop, Abortion Supporter Irks Vatican

Evangelist Franklin Graham has called President Obama's guest list for Pope Francis' welcome this week "disgraceful and obviously inappropriate," even as the Vatican has reportedly objected to the White House's invitation to transgender activists, an openly gay bishop and supporters of abortion and euthanasia.

The guest list for a planned event at the White House's South Lawn to welcome the pope on his first full day in the U.S. on Wednesday includes Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a "Catholic social justice lobby" which allegedly supports abortion and euthanasia; Bishop Gene Robinson, former Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire who is the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in the country; Mateo Williamson, a former co-head of the transgender caucus of Dignity USA; and also activists from the LGBT group GLAAD.

"This is disgraceful and obviously inappropriate," Graham wrote on his Facebook page Saturday. "Is there no end to the lengths the president will go to in order to push his sinful agenda?"

Graham, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said it is wise of the Vatican to "question President Obama's guest list" and that the list of guests "should raise a lot of eyebrows."

The Vatican has taken offense, according to The Wall Street Journal. » | Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor | Sunday, September 20, 2015

Pope Benedict XVI Criticises 'Tide of Secularism' in UK and Support for Euthanasia
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI has criticised the “increasing tide of secularism” in Britain, in his second comments on the country in a week.

The pontiff condemned support for euthanasia, which he said goes directly against the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life, and recent developments in embryo research.

He also said that too many people see the Roman Catholic Church in terms of “prohibitions and retrograde positions” but ignore its positive vision of the world.

The pope added that faith schools are a “powerful force” for improving society.

It comes just days after Benedict XVI made an unprecedented attack on Labour’s “unjust” equality laws, claiming that they restricted religious freedom. >>> Martin Beckford | Saturday, February 06, 2010

”Assisted Dying”

MARK ALEXANDER: Assisted dying is a euphemism for euthanasia. Let us be clear about that! So, let us call it exactly what it is.

I know that there are strong arguments in favour of euthanasia, but there are also many strong arguments against it. The harsh reality is that humans have started to play God; and the Anglican Church is strangely silent on this most sensitive of issues.

Our atheist leader — the Führer — is said to be all for it. But then he would be, wouldn’t he, with his belief system, or lack of one? Surely, he will be glad to be able to pass such a bill; the billions saved for the Treasury will quickly start to fill his “black hole”.

These days, most people bundle their old and infirm into care homes, without compunction. Life is easier that way! That they do this is a sad indictment of the über-materialistic times we live in, a sad indictment of modern Western societies.

The West truly has lost its way now. Expect its demise sooner rather than later. This moral void will most certainly be filled, however. We are a post-Christian society now: people have abandoned Christianity. They have abandoned God. But I believe it is true to say that God will not have abandoned them. He will manifest Himself in another way, in another, fast-growing religion in this country: Islam.

We need to think carefully about this step into the unknown, which we appear determined to take.

All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander

ADDENDUM:

It should be noted that doctors practise “assisted dying” already. I know this for a fact because my life’s partner was assisted in his passing in Philadelphia in 2016 under my very own eyes. His continued and long-term hospital care became too expensive for his premium health insurance to countenance. So, steps were taken to help him on his way! It was so subtle, even I didn’t realise what was happening until it was too late! – © Mark Alexander

Related video here.

Australian TV Bans Pro-euthanasia Advert
THE TELEGRAPH: Australia has banned the first televised pro-euthanasia advert which featured a terminally ill man saying: "I did not choose this."



The 45-second advert featured an ill-looking man sitting on a bed talking about the choices he has made in life.

"I chose to marry Tina, have two great kids. I chose to always drive a Ford," the actor says. "What I didn't choose is being terminally ill.

"I didn't choose to starve to death because eating is like swallowing razor blades. I certainly didn't choose to have to watch my family go through it with me. I've made my final choice. I just need the government to listen." >>> | Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Luxembourg Monarch Muzzled over Euthanasia
Photo of the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and his wife, the Duchess Maria-Theresa, courtesy of The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: The people of Luxembourg stripped their beloved monarch of his political powers today after he tried to veto a bill that allows for the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Grand Duke Henri, ceremonial ruler of Luxembourg's 470,000 inhabitants, provoked an unprecedented crisis in the sedate territory two weeks ago when he refused to sign the law, apparently for reasons of conscience.

Henri is a devout Catholic. The hereditary monarch's powers are largely nominal but, under the Grand Duchy's constitution, no new legislation can come into force without royal assent. Until a fortnight ago, no member of the dynasty had ever challenged the parliamentary process.

A constitutional amendment approved by parliament yesterday limits the monarch to announcing decisions of parliament, in effect, muzzling the Grand Duke but the move has provoked a debate about the monarchy's future.

"It's just one article in our constitution that's changing but it represents an enormous loss of monarchical rights," Professor Paul Margue, a historian, said. "You might be right to ask what then is the point of having a Grand Duke at all?"

Henri, a handsome, affable 53-year old, has previously seen off a string of scandals, including an affair, but the constitutional crisis triggered by his attachment to traditional Catholic values may have irredeemably tarnished his image. "He's badly overstepped his mark by meddling in politics. No Grand Duke has ever dared to block a law before it's been approved by the parliament," said Lucien Montebrusco, political editor of the Luxembourg daily Tageblatt. Like many, Montebrusco believes Henri may have been egged on by the Catholic Church and by his Cuban wife, Maria-Theresa, a great-niece of the former dictator Fulgencio Batista. >>> By Vanessa Mock in Luxembourg | December 11, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

'Nazi' Village in Germany Becomes 'No-go Zone'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A village in east Germany has been taken over by neo-Nazis and the local Mayor claims the authorities have given up on trying to impose order.

Photo: The Daily Telegraph
People living nearby say that Jamel, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state, has become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis from across Europe.

Jamel comprises just ten farmhouses, at least seven of which are occupied by far-right extremists. Swastikas have been daubed on the walls of the houses and a plaque at the entrance to the village states "Village of Jamel – free, social, national". There is also a sign pointing to Adolf Hitler's birthplace – "Braunau am Inn 855 kilometres".

Beer bottles and car tyres litter the streets and guard dogs strain at their chains in front yards. Young men with shaved heads practise shooting in the woods surrounding the village and children give Nazi salutes to any visitors. There is an annual party to celebrate Hitler's birthday.

"Now, they see Jamel as a 'nationally liberated zone'," Horst Lohmeyer, who lives nearby, told Spiegel. >>> | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Right-wing Extremism: The Village Where the Neo-Nazis Rule
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Hitler salutes in the street and firing practice in the forest: Neo-Nazis have taken over an entire village in Germany, and authorities appear to have given up efforts to combat the problem. The place has come to symbolize the far right's growing influence in parts of the former communist east.

Horst and Birgit Lohmeyer have been working on their life's dream for six years, renovating a house in the woods near Jamel, a tiny village near Wismar in the far northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Birgit Lohmeyer writes crime novels, her husband is a musician, and both try to pretend everything is normal here in Jamel.

It wasn't easy to find their new home. The Lohmeyers spent months driving out to the countryside every weekend, heading east from where they lived in Hamburg, but most of the houses they saw were too expensive. Then they came across the inexpensive red brick farmhouse in Jamel. Slightly run-down, but not far from the Baltic Sea, the house sits surrounded by lime and maple trees, near a lake.

The Lohmeyers knew that a notorious neo-Nazi lived nearby -- Sven Krüger, a demolition contractor and high-level member of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). What the Lohmeyers didn't know was that other neighbors felt terrorized by Krüger. He and his associates were in the process of buying up the entire village.

Jamel is an example of the far-right problem that has plagued Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for years. The rural region, once part of communist East Germany, has a poor reputation in this regard -- the NPD, which glorifies the Third Reich, has been in the state parliament since 2006 and neo-Nazi crimes are part of daily life. In recent months, a series of attacks against politicians from all the democratic parties has shaken the state. Sometimes hardly a week goes by without an attack on another electoral district office, with paint bombs, right-wing graffiti and broken windows. >>> Maximilian Popp | Monday, January 03, 2011

To the photo gallery >>>

THE GUARDIAN: Remains in Austrian hospital graveyard may be Nazi euthanasia victims: Psychiatric institute in Tyrol finds records of up to 220 people who may have been murdered under Third Reich >>> Kate Connolly | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Muslim Four Boasted of Beating Up RE Teacher for 'Mocking Islam’ Spreading Doubts
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Four Muslims who beat up a teacher for lecturing Islamic pupils were caught on a covert recording saying: “This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.”

Akmol Hussein, 26, Sheikh Rashid, 27, Azad Hussain, 25, and Simon Alam, 19, discussed the plan to ambush Gary Smith outside his school nearly a month before attacking him in the street.

A bug, which could have been put in Akmol’s car by the security services, captures the gang discussing the plot, then praising Allah as they drive from the scene of the attack. Excerpts of the recording played in Snaresbrook Crown Court disclose Hussein setting out the plan to ambush Mr Smith, the head of religious education at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow, east London.

Hussein says: “This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.

“He’s mocking Islam and he’s putting doubts in people’s minds, How can somebody take a job to teach Islam when they’re not even a Muslim?”

Sarah Whitehouse, prosecuting, said Mr Smith taught a “wide variety of topics such as abortion, euthanasia and the role of women”. Mr Smith was ambushed by the gang shortly after 8am as he walked to the school from nearby Mile End on July 12 last year. Miss Whitehouse said: “He was targeted as the victim of this attack simply because of his position as head of religious studies at the school.”

The court heard that moments before the gang attacked Mr Smith, Hussein can be heard saying: “Does everyone remember the drill? One time, bang, bang, bang, bang.” The recording is then silent for 10 minutes while the attack takes place. » | Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Pope From Far Away Is An Inspiring Choice
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Francis I, clearly a a man of humility, compassion and learning, faces challenges that will require vision and willpower

The Catholic Church has a pontiff from the New World: “from far away”, as Pope Francis I told the crowds – and the world – when he appeared last night on the balcony in St Peter’s Square. The choice of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, may have come as a surprise to many, but to anyone who appreciates the shift in Catholic demographics from Europe to the developing world, it looks like a wise decision.

Much about Pope Francis suggests continuity. He is Italian-speaking and a man of advancing years – at 76, he breathes with one lung. Moreover, he is a conservative on moral issues and has publicly defended the Church’s position on euthanasia, abortion, homosexuality and priestly celibacy. Liberals will be disappointed.

Yet in many other ways, this Pope is a bold and thrilling choice. He is the first Jesuit pontiff – from an order that normally eschews ecclesiastical honours. He is said to be a simple and honest man, who often speaks out on behalf of the poor and who chose, when made a cardinal, to live in a modest apartment rather than his luxurious official residence. Indeed, upon his appointment in 2001, he discouraged people from spending money to fly out to Rome to accompany him, urging them to donate the funds to alleviate poverty at home instead. » | Telegraph View | Wednesday, March 13, 2013


Why Pope Francis was chosen as new pontiff: Speaking after cardinals elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope, US cardinal Timothy Dolan explained why they chose him and the atmosphere inside the Sistine Chapel. » | Thursday, March 14, 2013

Inside Story: Who Decides When It Is Time to Die?

As Quebec debates euthanasia, we ask if people should have a choice over the timing and manner of their death.

Françoise Hardy, French Pop Singer and Fashion Muse, Dies Aged 80

THE GUARDIAN: Singer and actor who wrote some of her country’s biggest pop hits had suffered with lymphatic cancer for many years

Françoise Hardy, whose elegance and beautifully lilting voice made her one of France’s most successful pop stars, has died aged 80.

Her death was reported by her son, the fellow musician Thomas Dutronc, who wrote “Maman est partie,” (or in English, “mum is gone”) on Instagram alongside a baby photo of himself and Hardy.

Hardy had lymphatic cancer since 2004, and had undergone years of radiotherapy and other treatments for the illness. In 2015, she was briefly placed in an induced coma after her condition worsened, and had issues with speech, swallowing and respiration in the years since. In 2021, she had argued in favour of euthanasia, saying that France was “inhuman” for not allowing the procedure. » | Ben Beaumont-Thomas | Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Françoise Hardy: France’s girlish yé-yé star was a groundbreaking musical artist: Hardy shot to fame singing airy, carefree pop before she took control of her career, hung out with 60s rock aristocracy and became a sophisticated singer-songwriter of rare sensuality and melancholy »

Françoise Hardy, icône de la chanson française, est morte à 80 ans : C'est son fils Thomas Dutronc qui a annoncé la nouvelle. La chanteuse, visage phare du mouvement yé-yé, est morte à l'âge de 80 ans. Elle était atteinte d'un cancer. Retour sur les grandes dates de sa vie, de sa naissance à Paris en 1944, à son décès ce 11 juin 2024. »

De Serge Gainsbourg à Iggy Pop, la sphère de Françoise Hardy : L’interprète du Temps de l’amour a régulièrement collaboré et été inspirée par son entourage de musiciens, jusqu’à son dernier album en 2018, où elle chante une dernière fois son histoire avec Jacques Dutronc. »

The Pope Deserves Better from Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI is a serious man whose message risks being drowned out by misguided noise, argues Michael Burleigh.

Pope Benedict in Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran. Photo: The Telegraph
”There cannot be a "dialogue" with Islam until there is meaningful reciprocity of such religious freedoms as the right to open places of worship or to convert without fear of death. To underline that, Benedict used St Peter's Basilica to receive the Italian Muslim convert Magdi Allam into the faith.” – Michael Burleigh
The two Bush presidents liked to refer to themselves as "41" and "43" in a democratic succession that goes back to George "1" Washington in 1789. This country is about to receive Benedict XVI who, were he vulgarly inclined, could highlight that he is "265" in an apostolic succession that originated with Christ's commission to St Peter.

Under normal circumstances, one might say "welcome" rather than "receive". But the multiple sexual scandals that have afflicted parts of the Catholic Church have created a window of opportunity for sundry chasers of limelight – including human rights militants, crusading gays, Islamist fanatics, and celebrity God-botherers – to band together to "arrest" the Pope under laws so obscure that few knew they existed. Because child abuse is involved, rather than the more widespread phenomenon of homosexual predation on young men, these manifestations will receive much media attention, especially from the BBC, to the guaranteed perplexity of a less involved general public in a nominally Protestant country. It will require some effort of mind to tune out this noise to hear what the Pope will be saying.

The stations of Josef Ratzinger's life are almost guaranteed to make unthinking liberals recoil, just as his classical European erudition does not sit well with a local culture that has taken irony and philistinism to levels whose self-satisfied provincialism are not hard to parody. Britain may be bankrupt, but we have "comedians" aplenty.

As a 14 year-old, the future Pope was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, along with the majority of his age cohort. That year, 1941, one of his cousins, who had Down's syndrome, was murdered in the Nazis' monstrous "euthanasia" campaign. As the Nazis ran out of cannon fodder, even young seminarians were drafted into such tasks as manning anti-aircraft batteries, which Ratzinger did in the years before he briefly entered Allied captivity.

That typical German experience made Ratzinger especially receptive to the Church's multiple condemnations of totalitarianism, perhaps nowhere better expressed than in Pius XI's 1937 encyclical "With burning anxiety". Rabid anticlericalism and credulity towards the wonder-working state was the common denominator between 19th-century liberalism and the totalitarian creeds of the 20th century. Starting with the Russian Bolsheviks, followed by revolutionary Mexico and Spain, the progressively murderous Left sought to wipe out the Christian churches, which were sometimes intimately associated with inequitable social orders. Ironically, the late 19th-century papacy of Leo XIII had been in the forefront of demanding that industrial workers receive their due dignity and respect.

Both Communism and Nazism inaugurated what Churchill accurately described as "man worship" while the state barged its way into such spheres as the family and education, usually through dedicated youth organisations of the kind Ratzinger was impressed into. Although the Pope is not a political animal, there can be little doubt that he was influenced by that remarkable generation of post-war Christian Democrat leaders, such as Adenauer or De Gasperi, who did so much to restore the self-confidence of a continent turned into a desert of despair by totalitarianism.

As a distinguished academic theologian, Ratzinger was again exposed to the rabidly intolerant Left during a spell at the University of Tübingen in the 1960s. Whereas it would be axiomatic to an apprentice cobbler or mechanic that a master craftsman knew his trade, campus Marxists imagined that their dogmas explained both the entirety of history and all human knowledge. Entire disciplines had either to be re-forged in accordance with their materialist creed or considered redundant. Read on and comment >>> Michael Burleigh | Wednesday, 15, 2010

My comment as it appears on The Telegraph:

A truly wonderful article. Thank you.

I believe that we should welcome Pope Benedict XVI as warmly as we can. For your information, I am not a Roman Catholic.

In my opinion, Pope Benedict XVI is a wonderful man, a scholar in the true sense, a man of erudition, a learned man. He is also an aesthete.

For me, it is a privilege to welcome this pope to our shores. It is to be hoped that the ridiculous crowd will not embarrass the British people by trying to pull stunts. I hope they'll go to the pub for a pint instead.

Pope Benedict XVI is a man of great dignity. He should be treated accordingly. – © Mark

David Cameron’s welcome message >>>

Hallelujah! Archbishop Speaks Up For Christians: This Bias Against Us Must Stop, Says Dr Rowan Williams
MAIL ONLINE: The Archbishop of Canterbury used his Easter sermon to launch an extraordinary pre-election attack on a 'sustained effort' to discriminate against Christians.

Dr Rowan Williams, who has faced criticism for his reluctance to defend traditional values, blamed ' wooden-headed bureaucratic silliness' for Christians being barred from wearing religious symbols at work.

He said there was now a 'strange mixture of contempt and fear' towards Christianity in Britain.

The Anglican leader's remarks came as senior churchmen mount a campaign to put Christian values at the heart of the election campaign.

Thirty-five religious leaders have unveiled a U.S.-style 'declaration of conscience' setting out policies that unite British churches, including opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia.

They also appear to back Conservative proposals to support marriage in the tax system, which David Cameron is expected to give further details of this week.

While colleagues have been increasingly vocal in their protests, Dr Williams has up to now said little about discrimination against Christians.

But yesterday he highlighted the case of nurse Shirley Chaplin, who took the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust to an employment tribunal claiming discrimination.

She refused to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix, saying it would undermine her faith. The trust claimed there were health and safety issues and a ruling is expected this week.

Addressing a congregation at Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Williams referred to 'yet another legal wrangle over the right to wear a cross in public while engaged in professional duties'.

He said: '[This is] one more small but significant mark of what many Christians feel is a sustained effort to discriminate against them and render their faith invisible and impotent in the public sphere.

'One more mark of the curious contemporary belief that Christians are both too unimportant for their convictions to be worth bothering with and too dangerous for them to be allowed to manifest those convictions. >>> James Chapman | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010

SPIEGEL Interview* with Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi: 'Switzerland Should be Dissolved as a State'
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a master of outrage, has done it again. In a SPIEGEL interview he explained why Switzerland should be dissolved as a state and said German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more like a man than a woman. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi talked to the SPIEGEL about his friendship with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the 'youthful exuberance' of his sons, and why he thinks Switzerland is a mafia.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Gadhafi, for years you repeatedly got into shouting matches with the Western world before making your peace with arch-enemy America four years ago. Now you have declared a holy war on tiny Switzerland, of all countries. Why?

Gadhafi: Switzerland is one country among many; sometimes you have trouble with one country, sometimes with another. We never had difficulties with Switzerland before. We used to appreciate it as a holiday destination. We used to appreciate its companies and its watches. But then Switzerland began to treat us badly. For example, the minaret issue and the publishing of nasty portrayals of the Prophet. It was necessary to draw a line with the Swiss. That is what I did in my speech in Benghazi to mark the Prophet's birthday.

SPIEGEL: And now Swiss national Max Göldi, who has absolutely nothing to do with this, has to pay for your anger against Switzerland? A man whose visa allegedly expired, who has not been able to leave Libya for nearly two years and has been in prison for months. Why are you doing nothing for him?

Gadhafi: Only the courts can decide on this.

SPIEGEL: Do you mean to tell us that you don't have the power to pardon him?

Gadhafi: This is a matter for the legal system. But I'm talking now about Switzerland. Switzerland is a state that stands outside the international community. It is not bound by any EU regulations. It is good that it joined the United Nations in 2002, but the whole time before that it was not a member. Why? It wanted to stand above international law. And that has made Switzerland into a mafia.

SPIEGEL: Whatever you may now say about Switzerland, previously it didn't bother you in the least. You did business with the country -- your company Tamoil Suisse has dozens of filling stations in Switzerland.

Gadhafi: Money is laundered on a grand scale in Switzerland. Anyone who robs a bank later invests the money in Switzerland. Anyone who evades taxes goes to Switzerland. Anyone who wants to deposit money in secret accounts goes to Switzerland. And a large number of owners of such secret accounts have died under mysterious circumstances.

SPIEGEL: Excuse me?

Gadhafi: Yes, Switzerland is behind it all.

SPIEGEL: Don't Libyans also have secret accounts in Switzerland?

Gadhafi: Yes, there are also Libyans who have such accounts, and many of them have also died in unexplained ways. All around the world, the families of these people are going to sue Switzerland. And one more thing: Switzerland is the only country that allows euthanasia. Why does only Switzerland do that? >>> | Monday, May 03, 2010

*Interview conducted by Volkhard Windfuhr and Bernhard Zand