Blessed Franz Jaegerestaetter

Simonthepilgrim

Franz Jaegerstaetter was an Austrian Catholic pacifist who was executed in 1943 for refusing to fight in the army. Despite his offer to serve as a paramedic, he was guillotined.

Even though his village priest tried to persuade him to fight, he refused. Yesterday, the Catholic Church recognised his "heroic virtue" bu declaring him "Blessed". It may the first time that a modern pacifist has been beatified.

For some of us, there is a real resonance between our Buddhist ideals and practice, and the arguments for pacificism. Others do not find any contradiction. Jaegerstaetter agonised over his decision, apparently, for some years. He corresponded with his bishop and studied the issues. Seems to me that he is as much of an example to Buddhists as to Christians: do the hard work and find your own answer to the difficult questions.

fofoo

Thanks Simon for this interesting piece of information. For me, our past, especially as a German, is still an issue I can not make peace with. It`s hard for me to understand how it could come so far. Such instances like Franz Jaegerstaetter though can help. They serve as examples of uprigthness until the end, even if this means death. That the catholic church honours such people gives hope, especially when the current pope was a "Flak-Helfer" and served in the German Army during ww2.

Simonthepilgrim

fofoo wrote: »

Thanks Simon for this interesting piece of information. For me, our past, especially as a German, is still an issue I can not make peace with. It`s hard for me to understand how it could come so far. Such instances like Franz Jaegerstaetter though can help. They serve as examples of uprigthness until the end, even if this means death. That the catholic church honours such people gives hope, especially when the current pope was a "Flak-Helfer" and served in the German Army during ww2.

Fofoo, dear friend,

Franz gives us all hope, in every nation, each as genocidal as each other.

The Pope, with such a great shame in his past, may be just the man we need to bear witness that a person has, within them, the power to change. Whether the change is for the better or for the worse is entirely the human choice in every life.

fofoo

Simonthepilgrim wrote: »

The Pope, with such a great shame in his past, may be just the man we need to bear witness that a person has, within them, the power to change. Whether the change is for the better or for the worse is entirely the human choice in every life.

´
I agree. I believe the insight that people can change is important to the catholic concepts of repenting and forgiving.

GoldRishi

Simonthepilgrim wrote: »

Franz Jaegerstaetter was an Austrian Catholic pacifist who was executed in 1943 for refusing to fight in the army. Despite his offer to serve as a paramedic, he was guillotined.

Even though his village priest tried to persuade him to fight, he refused. Yesterday, the Catholic Church recognised his "heroic virtue" bu declaring him "Blessed". It may the first time that a modern pacifist has been beatified.

For some of us, there is a real resonance between our Buddhist ideals and practice, and the arguments for pacificism. Others do not find any contradiction. Jaegerstaetter agonised over his decision, apparently, for some years. He corresponded with his bishop and studied the issues. Seems to me that he is as much of an example to Buddhists as to Christians: do the hard work and find your own answer to the difficult questions.

As for the Pacifism issue, though I admit I am right now not a Buddhist, I can only think of war in the way Muhammad did:

(NOTE: I'll be paraphrasing and mixing together sections of the Qur'an I've read because I'm far less familiar with the Qur'an than the Bible or Tanak; so this is not an exurb, but a interpretation after some reading)


In the proper concept of Jihad --not the modern, non-traditional one-- a man was called upon to fight in very specialized situations: when he was in danger, when fellow people were in danger, or when (directly stemming from the second case) his city/nation was in danger. He was proscribed by Allah to show mercy always, and never to exceed the violence that was necessary.


I'm not a believer in God, but I do believe that violence is necessary as a final resort. I bring up the case of what is a human being to do when:

A. Their physical self is threatened.
B. They are encountered with the rape of another human being.
C. They could stop murder/rape/torture/theft.