This blog doesn’t generally deal with religious leaders or the religious perspective(s) on euthanasia, assisted suicide, medical killing and other related topics. There are several reasons for this. For starters, NDY is a secular group. Second, NDY is a disability rights group.
If that’s not enough, there is plenty of exposure on the internet and in the media for religious viewpoints. This is our space for making our case.
Having said that, though, there’s good reason once in awhile to share something from the realm of religion.
The good reason today is that Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the United States this week. It’s not clear if he’ll be talking much about euthanasia while he’s here. He has other stated priorities, including mending bridges over multiple sex abuse scandals here in the U.S. and giving an address at the United Nations.
A couple of pro-life sites mentioned something about the Pope I hadn’t heard before regarding his experience with euthanasia, and motivated me to find out more about something I hadn’t heard before.
It turns out that this particular Pope’s feelings regarding euthanasia may be as rooted in personal experience as they are in his religious beliefs, according to a recent children’s book about the life of Pope Benedict XVI. (his name was Joseph Ratzinger before election to his current office)
This story in The Scotsman provides an important glimpse at an early chapter of his life in Germany:
At around the same time in 1941, one of Ratzinger’s cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down’s syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics.
It’s certain that Pope Benedict will be speaking out against euthanasia in the future. I hope that he includes the story of his cousin’s death when he does so. It’s important story to illustrate his own firsthand knowledge – the knowledge that medical professionals and the state are fully capable of rationalizing killing as both “cost-effective” and “merciful.”
He might find his message reaching a larger audience that way. –Stephen Drake
One of the pro-life sites is LifeNews.com and the story is here.
— Steven Ertelt