It is being reported in Europe that Austrian Bishop well said this about the stampede at the ‘Love Parade’ in Germany that killed 21 people…
“An Austrian bishop has described the stampede at a German music festival that left 21 people dead as a sinful event and said the incident was God’s punishment for losing faith.”
So do we have a Catholic Pat Robertson on our hands? It would seem no.
This summary is being reported and reprinted by many news services and in not one (of the dozens I looked at) actually contained the quote by Bishop Laun in which Bishop Laun actually said this. These summaries only mentioned that the Bishop said it at Kath.net.
But what did the Bishop actually say? I was curious since none of the reporting I found contained the actual quote. So I went to Kath.net and found the article and ran it through the Google translator.
This line jumped out at me. (Babel Fish Translation)
Also it is not entitled to humans to judge and state beyond that of the dead ones, their death is one – naturally fair – „punishment of God “for the Sündigkeit of the Love parade, in whose process the misfortune happened!
So the Bishop seems to be saying the exact opposite of what is being reported. He clearly indicates that no man can make that assessment. To emphasize the point he suggests that anyone who makes links such misfortune directly to sin should be worried about his own health.
But the Bishop does go on to say that one cannot escape the fact that the God of the Bible can and does punish people for sin. This is a fact.
One can question the wisdom of making such a point at this time, but it is entirely unfair for news agencies to suggest that Bishop Laun made a direct suggestion that the tragedy was a punishment.
Now to suggest that there is a direct linkage between such poor reporting and the imminent demise of many of these news services, that would be fair.
August 9, 2010 at 10:04 am
Dear Patrick!
Allow me to provide an translation of what Bishop Laun actually wrote:
"No man can be without shock because of the disaster in Duisburg (the German city where the "Love"-Parade took place) or be without compassion for the dead and in the first place their parents and other relatives. This is why the Pope, many bishops and other people prayed for those affected. Also, nobody has the right to judge the dead and claim that their death is a – naturally just – "punishment of God" for the sinfulness of the "Love"-Parade, during which the disaster took place.
By the way: Whoever thinks he can assign sin and God's punishment in such a direct [in the sense of "cut and dried"] way, should be concerned with his own health and maybe even marvel at the fact that he is still alive – and should be happy, that God alone – and no man – is judge! All this stands without a doubt and may not be mitigated."
This is a word-for-word translation. Bishop Laun then continues and calls the "Love"-Parade a revolt against creation and against the order of God and an invitation to sin. Strong stuff, for sure, but also not completely off-the-wall crazy, as the MSM want us to believe. Bishop Laun further laments the inability of people nowadays to handle the concept of "Punishment" (unless somebody is punished who damaged or hurt these people or did something they condemn) and the reality of "Sin" together with the idea of a God who punishes out of love. Here you can – if you really want and need to – draw a connection between what happened at the "Love"-Parade and a God, who punishes this kind of behavior.
BTW: Count yourself lucky! You don't have to read the comments in the German newspapers. It always amazes me, how the writers of the Main-Stream-Media don't mind to play stupid as long as it serves some twisted, nasty agenda. Of course, most of their clients wont recognize it because they themselves feel very comfortable in their little bubble of anti-catholic prejudice and bias.
August 9, 2010 at 10:04 am
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August 9, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Everything Bishop Laun said seems correct to me, and I'd give him the benefit of the doubt if it didn't. But in terms of media management, the Bishop's statements were a bit of a fail.
The problem? He said at least three distinct things in his statement. This is two more than the media can handle. Reporters and editors always want a single headline for each story, and have no compunction about trying to include all the different parts of a statement in a one-liner, however distorted.
August 9, 2010 at 3:48 pm
And the truth shall set you free…To bad the news service is so costly that they're willing to sacrifice their professional integrity for whatever will sell!
August 9, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Alipius,
You should post your translation to the Times of India article.
August 11, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Alipius thank you for the clear explanation and translation. It was very helpful and untangled his comments–which were very Catholic.
God bless him.
Mrs. S (who uses anonymous due to limited computer skills.)