Of Holocausts, Tsunamis and Abortion

Joachim Meisner, Cardinal of Cologne, set off a firestorm of criticism the other day by comparing abortion to the genocide of Hitler and Stalin:

The Roman Catholic Cardinal of Cologne, Joachim Meisner, said in a
sermon in the western city’s cathedral on Thursday 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".

Comments like this occur from time to time, and each occurance brings to mind the role the Catholic Church played in Germany during the period of National-Socialism and at its demise.  Needless to say, the Central Council of Jews in Germany was quick to condemn Cardinal Meisner’s statemens. Paul Spiegel, Council President, said it was outrageous to equate abortion to the systematic killing of six million Jews:

«Meisner muss sich unverzüglich von diesem unzulässigen Vergleich
distanzieren», forderte Paul Spiegel, Präsident des Zentralrates der
Juden in Deutschland, am Freitag in Düsseldorf. «Ein Bischof hat auch
eine Vorbildfunktion», mahnte Spiegel. «Was soll man von der Jugend
erwarten, wenn ein katholischer Würdenträger auf diese Weise und
ungestraft den millionenfachen Mord an Juden relativieren kann»,
kritisierte der Zentralratspräsident im Gespräch mit der dpa. Spiegel
betonte, es habe schon Personen des Öffentlichen Lebens gegeben, «die
haben auf Grund solcher Äußerungen von ihren Ämtern zurücktreten
müssen».

Auch bei allem Verständnis für die moralische Empörung des Kardinals in
der Frage der Abtreibung ist nach Spiegels Worten «der direkte
Vergleich mit dem systematischen und fabrikmäßigen Massenmord der Nazis
unzulässig und im höchsten Maße empörend».

This time it was good to see the  Greens stand up and call for  Meisner’s removal from his  position as  leader of the  Catholic  Church  in  Cologne .

Auch die Grünen reagierten mit heftiger Kritik. Der parlamentarische
Geschäftsführer der Grünen im Bundestag, Volker Beck, warf Meisner am
Samstag vor, er verspiele das Ansehen der Kirche. „Jeder Politiker, der
die Sätze von Kardinal Meisner ausgesprochen hätte, könnte sich vor
Rücktrittsforderungen nicht retten“, erklärte Beck.

Finally today Meisner issued a statement that he regretted that his comments were "misunderstood".  He may have compounded his offense, however, by insisting that Paul Spiegel had "misread" his statements on abortion, that he never made abortion morally equivalent to Nazi atrocities.  The Greens – bless them – are not satisfied and demand a full apology not only to Jews everywhere, but also to all women who are in circumstances where they need to terminate a pregnancy.

But leave it to evangelical Christians in the US to outdo the Catholic Church with outrageous statements.  Via The Poor Man we learn that  some Christians see the Tsunami  in South Asia as divine retribution for legalized abortion in the  US.

Throughout history and reported early in the
Bible, God has always used plagues, floods and natural disasters as a
source of punishment. 

One can talk about
a sad lost generation over there in the disaster going on in Asia.  We
have a lost generation of 40 million aborted babies in this country
that is being ignored by so many people.  I believe that this situation
that happens makes all of us look inward, realize God is ultimately in
control of life and death. 

Look at what
we’re looking with just in this country with cloning, homosexuality,
trying to make homosexual marriages, abortion, lack of God in the
schools, taking Jesus out of Christmas.  I can’t pretend to know the
mind of God.  But, historically, there have been warnings.  And God,
who is all-loving and all-good, and he will not be mocked.

Why the "loving God" would choose to punish Americans for their sins by killing  150,000 Asians – a third of which were children – is just one of those mysteries we mere mortals will never comprehend.