Some years ago, an old German soldier, Henry Metelmann, told me the story of how he had killed his fatally wounded comrade on the Russian front.
Soldiers often become deeply attached to their mates in war, and Willi was Henry’s best mate. But in the freezing conditions of retreat across the Russian steppes, Willi was mortally wounded by a strafing aircraft and lay in the snow in appalling agony. Henry cradled his friend in his arms, and quickly and expertly put a bullet through his heart. He then gave him as respectful a burial as he could, before being summoned to move on.
Metelmann then went back to Germany and visited Willi’s parents, where he told them a deliberate lie. He said that Willi had died instantly and bravely under Russian fire.
All his life, Henry mourned his comrade, but he felt he had spared him an agonising death alone in the snow. He was also glad that he had given the parents a fictitious account of their son’s death, which they found comforting. He never told anyone about the event until 50 years later.
This is an example of what is sometimes called a “mercy killing”, which is known to occur on battlefields, although it is against the military law of most armies and also against the Geneva Convention.
Currently a former SAS sergeant is to be investigated for murder after admitting he shot dead Iraqi fighters on the Syrian border when they were, he believed, mortally injured. One had been disembowelled and was pleading for deliverance.
Colin Maclachlan, a Scotsman aged 42, made the claim in a new book, and as a consequence of going public will now be officially investigated.
Deliberate killing must be prosecuted, being against the law. But in battlefield circumstances is there not a moral law which takes into consideration a merciful intention? Intention is always a key factor in Christian ethics.
I’d like to see more open and serious debate about this issue of “mercy killing” in the heat of the battle – as opposed to the more insidious proposals for euthanasia and assisted suicide in civilian life.
Henry Metelmann’s fictional account to Willi’s parents also stands as an interesting case of a deception with a moral intent.
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Ian McEwan’s new, bestselling novel, Nutshell, is a story told from the viewpoint of the unborn baby as he – it seems to be a he – observes developments through the first 40 weeks of life. Donal Ryan – an admired Irish novelist, author of The Spinning Heart – has also produced a new novel, All We Shall Know, which describes a problematic yet relished pregnancy week by week. Bridget Jones’s Baby, the movie, presents a zany account of a deeply embarrassing pregnancy – but replete with ultrasound baby images which the audience loves. It’s interesting how novels, stories and movies – as opposed to politics – often have a distinctly pro-life subtext.
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The Taoiseach of Ireland, Enda Kenny (no kin!), is very worried about the impact of Brexit on Ireland, and is doing all he can to keep the British as close as possible for the purposes of trade and bilateral relations.
Someone might remind Enda that it was his party, Fine Gael, which took Ireland out of the Commonwealth in 1948, in defiance of King George VI’s sad pleading: “Must you leave the family?” Relations were very rocky after the Irish stormed out of an association which kept British-Irish relations close.
Is the situation we’re in today history’s quid pro quo?
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Alan Bennett, a writer widely regarded as a “national treasure”, has produced the latest edition of his funny, often provocative and sometimes honest and thoughtful diaries. I don’t know whether anyone had suggested to him that he might consider becoming a Catholic, but he writes that he’s “too much of a snob” to do so.
This accords very nicely with those who are drawn to the Church because they feel that is where you find common humanity – even, imagine, the working class. At Westminster Cathedral you are as likely to exchange the handshake of peace with a tramp as with a duchess, and that’s just how it should be.
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