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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007The Pope's cousin
On: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ratzinger#Early_life_.281927.E2.80. 931951.29> you can read the foolowing: = Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth (a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party) - membership being legally required after December 1936.[2] -, but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a child with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. = Does anybody know more about this murdered child? Its age and especially its sex? Reason: In Danish we have two words for cousin: 'kunsine' for female cousin and 'fætter' for male cousin. But we haven't got a gender-neutral word and is burdensome always to have to say 'fætter eller kusine' [male or female cousin] when referring to this child.  SignaturePer Erik Rønne http://www.RQNNE.dk [...] > In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a child with Down > syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > 'fætter eller kusine' [male or female cousin] when referring > to this child. German-language reports give the masculine form of the word "cousin," but no name appears in any of the German accounts.The original source of the story appears to be John L. Allen, Jr., the pope's biographer, who mentioned the cousin's murder in an article he wrote for the _National Catholic Reporter_ in 2005. Allen says it was the pope himself who first mentioned his cousin and his fate, during a Vatican conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Health in 1996. Allen wrote: "...a cousin with Down's Syndrome, who in 1941 was 14 years old, just a few months younger than Ratzinger himself, was taken away by the Nazi authorities for "therapy." Not long afterwards, the family received word that he was dead, presumably one of the "undesirables" eliminated during that time. Ratzinger revealed the episode on Nov. 28, 1996, at a Vatican conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Care." Interested parties appear to have tried without success to get the exact text of the remark from the Pontifical Council for Health Care. If someone really wanted to be determined about the matter, John Allen would probably be the best person to ask how exactly he received the information. Here's the article he wrote: http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word101405.htm#five Regards, ----- WB. > German-language reports give the masculine form of the word > "cousin," but no name appears in any of the German accounts.The [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > received the information. Here's the article he wrote: > http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word101405.htm#five Thank you very much. SignaturePer Erik Rønne http://www.RQNNE.dk |
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