A Hero Passes:

But In the Heart of Europe, a Rebirth of Faith?

 

The news today has an element of sadness,

but also of hope.

 

The element of sadness is that Otto von Hapsburg (right), a good and courageous man whom I had the privilege to meet more than once, has died at the age of 98.

 

Otto's father, the Blessed Karl (also sometimes called Charles), the last emperor of Austro-Hungary (he died 1922, just after the first World War), was a saint.

 

Otto was his oldest son, and so, had history not changed, he would have been an emperor.

 

But with Karl's passing almost a century ago, the Holy Roman Empire, a form of political organization marked by openly, sometimes militantly, Catholic faith and dating back (with a few twists and turns) to Charlemagne's coronation in the year 800, came to an end... after 1,100 years.

 

 

(Above, Otto with his wife, Regina von Habsburg, who died on February 3, 2010, a little more than a year ago, at the time of their wedding in 1951)

 

Now, with Otto's passing, the memory of an openly Catholic political culture in once-Christian Europe seems to fade even more permanently into the pre-modern mists. 

 

And yet, there is also an element of hope because something unexpected is stirring in the heart of Europe, in that part of the Holy Roman Empire known as Hungary.

 

In Hungary, the citizens, unexpectedly, recently approved a new constitution which is remarkably pro-life, in contrast to almost every other nation in the "new Europe."

 

And part of the reason for this is the remarkable, quiet leadership of a brilliant Churchman, a tall, powerfully-built, 59-year-old Hungarian archbishop whom John Paul II admired and made the youngest cardinal in the college of cardinals in the consistory of 2003, eight years ago.

 

His name?

 

Peter.

 

Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and thus Primate of Hungary, (photo right) unlike almost every other major Church figure in Europe today, has managed during the past decade, very skillfully, to help his country win back some territory from the massive forces of secularization and individualism which seem to have turned Europe into a vast open-air museum without a vibrant, beating heart, without many children, and without a desire to sacrifice today to build a future.

 

Erdo is also the President of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe -- making him, in a sense, the head of Europe's bishops -- and is today the second youngest member of the College of Cardinals.

 

And for this reason, I will be leaving Rome tonight for Budapest, to spend time with Erdo, and to discuss with him his vision for his country, for Europe, and for the Church.

 

========================

 

The Passing of an Era

 

Here is a brief summary of Otto von Hapburg's life and passing.

 

The oldest son of Austria-Hungary's last emperor, Otto von Habsburg, died on July 4 at his home in southern Germany. He was 98.

Born in 1912, Habsburg witnessed his family's decline after the Habsburgs were forced into exile in the United States following World War I.

Habsburg re-settled in Europe in the 1950s and was appointed member of the European parliament for Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union.

 

He was elected to the European Parliament at the first direct elections in 1979 and for the following 20 years worked tirelessly to help strengthen the European Institutions.

 

His main interests were in European integration and foreign policy.

Following Otto von Habsburg's death, the Chairman of the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul MEP, said:

"Otto von Habsburg embodied the history of European integration like no one else. The son of the last Austro-Hungarian emperor fought all his life for democracy, freedom, and understanding among the peoples of Europe. From the beginnings of the movement for European integration following the end of World War II until the now-famous Paneuropean picnic on the border between Austria and Hungary in 1989, he succeeded in overcoming borders and showing Europeans a way forward to a common future."

 

================

 

Here is the Associated Press account of Otto von Habsburg's passing, found at this link: http://news.yahoo.com/otto-von-habsburg-saw-end-empire-dead-98-144900184.html

 

The Associated Press

Date: Monday Jul. 4, 2011 7:42 AM ET

BERLIN — Otto von Habsburg, the oldest son of Austria-Hungary's last emperor and the longtime head of one of Europe's most influential families, died Monday, his spokeswoman said. He was 98.

Habsburg died in his sleep at his home in Poecking in southern Germany, where he had lived in exile since the 1950s, spokeswoman Eva Demmerle told The Associated Press. A longtime advocate of European reunification, he campaigned against communism and for the removal of the Iron Curtain.

Born in 1912 in what is now Austria, Habsburg witnessed the family's decline after the empire was dismantled and Austria became a republic following World War I. He became head of the family at his father's death in 1922 and continued to claim the throne until the 1960s.

He was a member of the European Parliament for the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union in southern Germany and also served as president of the Pan-European League from 1979 to 1999.

In that role, he was instrumental in helping organize the Pan-European Picnic peace demonstration in 1989 on the border of Austria and Hungary. The border was briefly opened in a symbolic gesture, which created the opportunity for 600 East Germans to flee communism months before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

It was the first time an Eastern European nation had opened its borders, and is widely seen as the start of the fall of communism.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso mourned the passing of "a great European ... who gave an important impetus to the European project throughout his rich life".

"He made a central contribution to the opening of the Iron Curtain and the peaceful reunification of our continent that had been divided for too long," Barroso said in a statement. "I will particularly remember his strong stance against all forms of totalitarianism and on Europe's fundamental values."

Habsburg was born in the Austrian city of Reichenau, the oldest son of Charles I, whose family ruled much of central and eastern Europe for centuries.

But after Austria and Germany lost World War I, the Austria-Hungarian Empire was dismantled, Charles I had to resign and Austria went on to become a republic.

In 1919, Charles and his family had to leave the country for what turned out to be permanent exile in various European countries.

After his father's death in 1922, the 10-year-old Otto officially took over as the head of the House of Habsburg.

Otto tried to negotiate his return to Austria in 1935 and again in 1938 when he even sought to become chancellor to fight the expected invasion by Hitler's troops, but could not gather enough support.

Instead, he found a channel through the U.S. embassy in Paris to contact President Franklin D. Roosevelt and later claimed to have prevented Allied bombings of a number of Austrian cities by pleading with the U.S. military.

He was also credited with having helped about 15,000 Austrians escape the Nazis. At the same time, as he told the Austrian paperDie Presse in 2007, he negotiated Austria's postwar fate with Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle.

Still, he was not allowed to return to Austria until 1966, five years after he officially abdicated the crown. He later claimed to be baffled by the hostility and criticism in his home country.

Habsburg's wife, Regina, died last year. The couple had seven children. Their eldest son, Karl, now runs the family's affairs and has been the official head of the House of Habsburg since 2007.

Habsburg will be buried July 16 in the Emperor Tomb in Vienna, below the Austrian capital's Capuchin Church.

 

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous