Take a Deep Breath…
A retired priest committed suicide by setting himself on fire in a German monastery in protest at the spread of Islam and the Protestant Church’s inability to contain it.
Roland Weisselberg, 73, poured a can of petrol over his head and set light to himself in the grounds of the Augustine monastery in the eastern city of Erfurt, where Martin Luther spent six years as a monk at the beginning of the 16th century.
Witnesses said that Weisselberg climbed into a building site next to the monastery church, where a Reformation Day service was being held. He shouted “Jesus and Oskar� before the flames engulfed him. The latter name was an apparent reference to Oskar Brüsewitz, a priest who burnt himself in 1976 in protest against the Communist regime in East Germany. Monastery staff tried to put out the flames and Weisselberg was still conscious as a nun prayed with him before he was taken to hospital. He died a day later, on Wednesday.
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The Provost of Erfurt, Elfriede Begrich, told reporters that Weisselberg’s widow had said that he killed himself because he was alarmed at the spread of Islam and the Church’s stance on the issue.She described Weisselberg as an erudite man who had addressed repeatedly the Church’s position on Islam in meetings over the past three to four years. He had written to her, urging her to take the matter more seriously, she said.
Crazy.
6 Responses to “Take a Deep Breath…”
What’s good for the goose, is good for the pastor, maybe?
Michael – I normally like your posts, but this time I really fail to see the lesson to be learned or discussion that should arise from a deranged man who happens to be a priest performing self-immolation to make his statement. This is tabloid stuff, IMHO.
Sorry you feel that way Austin, sometimes it’s just a matter of informing you. That’s serious and thoughtful in 90% of the cases, but sometimes something is so… extraordinary that no commentary is needed.
Michael, I don’t have much commentary, but my reaction is different from yours and Austin’s.
Buddhist monks were immolating themselves in VietNam in the early ’60s, and the Dutch priest must have had that in mind.
I’m not saying the priest wasn’t crazy, but that definitely wasn’t my first reaction.
AR That should be deranged and suicidal. To conflate this deraged action with the Vietnamese monk is weak. The East has used this from a postition of strength and Eastern logic – Satyagraha. At least the German priest didn’t attack Muslims, like a deranged Muslim. Maybe the Neocons will do the same in the US as a protest of the Bush policies. I would pay to see Perle cook…..
jjc, get your facts right. Dutch are from the Netherlands, Germans come from Germany.