Posted on 07/06/2011 11:41:23 AM PDT by marshmallow
Vienna, Austria, Jul 6, 2011 / 01:56 am (CNA).- Otto von Habsburg, a Catholic leader for a unified Europe and heir to the defunct Austro-Hungarian Empire, died July 4 at the age of 98. Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino remembered him as one of the twentieth century’s “greatest defenders” of the Catholic faith and human dignity.
“Even well into his nineties, Otto von Habsburg campaigned tirelessly to uphold Europe's Christian values and the sanctity of all human life,” the cardinal said in a statement from the Rome-based Dignitatis Humanae Institute.
“Otto von Habsburg's father, (Emperor) Blessed Karl of Austria, instilled in him from an early age that the office of a ruler is one of holy service and selfless sacrifice for the good of the peoples entrusted to him. It was a philosophy that would influence him all his life. He will be greatly missed.”
Cardinal Martino, who is the president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, noted that the dynastic leader’s “uncompromising position” on human dignity was evident in his agreement to become a patron of the Dignitas Humanae Institute despite his increasing frailty.
The organization advocates a universal declaration which bases this dignity on man’s creation in the image and likeness of God.
In 2007 Habsburg argued that lobbyists should examine the effective tactics of the “anti-family lobby” and use them to promote the protection of the most vulnerable, the cardinal recalled.
“Our thoughts and prayers at this time are turned towards the repose of Otto's soul, the consolation of his family, and loss of the people of Austria; and we trust in the mercy of God that today this holy, humble man beholds the face of Jesus Christ, now into eternity,” the cardinal said.
Habsburg died at his villa in Poecking in southern Germany, where he had lived since the 1950s, with his seven children nearby, the Associated Press reports.
Although he was a witness to the dismantling of his family’s empire, he used his influence in an unsuccessful struggle to keep the Nazis from annexing Austria before World War II. He also opposed Soviet communism and worked for the opening of the Iron Curtain in the decades after the war.
Cardinal Martino said Habsburg was “particularly disturbed” by the rise of the major totalitarian ideologies and fought against both National Socialism and International Socialism “at significant risk to his own life.”
He was a member of the European Parliament for the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union in southern Germany. He also served as president of the Pan-European League from 1979 to 1999, using his position to briefly open the border between Austria and Hungary to allow 600 East Germans to flee communism in 1989, months before the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall.
He is also credited with helping about 15,000 Austrians, including many Jews, escape the Nazis during World War II.
“My father was a towering personality," Habsburg's oldest son Karl Habsburg-Lothringen told the Austria Press Agency. "With him we lose a great European who has influenced everything we do today beyond measure.”
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso praised Habsburg as “a great European … who gave an important impetus to the European project throughout his rich life.”
“I will particularly remember his strong stance against all forms of totalitarianism and on Europe’s fundamental values,” Barroso said in a statement.
Habsburg's wife, Regina, died last year. Their eldest son Karl has officially headed the House of Habsburg since 2007.
His father, who tried to bring an end to World War I, was beatified in 2004.
Habsburg renounced all claims to the Austrian throne in 1961, five years before the Austrian government repealed the laws banning all members of the former imperial family from entering the country.
His body will be held in the St. Ulrich church in Poecking for three days for people to pay their respects. His funeral will take place in Vienna on July 16. Requiems are also planned for Poecking, Munich, Mariazell, Vienna and Budapest.
He will be buried in the imperial crypt in Vienna beneath the capital city’s Capuchin church. An aide to Habsburg’s son Georg told the AP that his heart will be buried in the Benedictine Abbey in Pannonhalma in central Hungary.
"The (European) Community is living largely by the heritage of the Heiliges R.misches Reich, though the great majority of the people who live by it don't know by what heritage they live.How is it that this statement by his highness didn't set off alarm bells across the world?
It’s German for “Holy Roman Empire.”
?
Because most of the world doesn't invent offense where there is none. How would you say "Empire" in German?
I read a lot this weekend about the man, Otto von Habsburg, the Austro-Hungarian Empire that ended during his father’s reign and the contributions of that Empire to much that was good about “the west” and why (and still is), as well as how it contributed to many ethnic issues that remain flash-points of political turbulence in Europe even today.
This dichotomy of blessings and curses is an inevitable result of all great Empires.
Otto spent his own life working to advance the blessings “the west” had to offer and trying to heal the riffs that continue between peoples in Europe. He SHOULD be remembered with fondness by this generation.
Excellent.
My history prof used to communicate regularly with Otto (that was way back in the 1960’s).
“Otto spent his own life working to advance the blessings “the west” had to offer and trying to heal the riffs that continue between peoples in Europe. He SHOULD be remembered with fondness by this generation.”
Amen to that, brother. This man did a lot of good. It speaks well to remember that.
I take it you don't know much history?
I take it you don't know much German
DIBS!!!
It also seems that "most of the world" is oblivious to offense when it abounds aplenty too.
Because most of the world doesn't invent offense where there is none
Relevance to the particular phrase? Nobody says "Heiliges Römisches Imperium" you know. His Imperial Highness invoked the Reich in terms of the European Union. And eighteen years after that, Jose Manuel Barroso called the EU an "empire". Invented offense when none exists?
How would you say "Empire" in German?
I should have said "aside from pretenders", although Adolf was himself one.
I did
I'm waiting for a FedEx package. There's a Nigerian feller sez he's gonna send it off to me...
That's a simple fact. "Imperium" is Latin. I see no reason at all for you to bring that word into the discussion.
Anyone who speaks of the Holy Roman Empire (whether directly or by metaphor) in the German language will inevitably have to utter the word "Reich". You'll have to live with it, Olog. Attempting to gin up offense at any use of the word "Reich" just makes you look ridiculous.
Good day.
You must be the guy I out bid for the The Spear Of Longinus.
RIP.
It's also German. With some asking me how much German I know, that's how it got put into this discussion—and that's apart from the phrase Imperium Romanum Sacrum.
"Imperium" is Latin
Not knowing the history of the successive Reiche makes one look ridiculous, actually. You do know how the first Reich was formed, I hope? Were you aware that we were fighting the Second Reich during WWI? Why would the leader of Germany from 1933-45 lay claim to the orb, scepter and sword of the aforementioned Reich? and why has the Reichskonkordat remained unbroken till this day? Add to that the resurgence of antisemitism across the continent. Doesn't take long to assemble this puzzle.
Attempting to gin up offense at any use of the word "Reich" just makes you look ridiculous
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