[Announce] Fw: Franz Jagerstatter DVD biography THE REFUSAL

[Robert Waldrop]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Emmanuel Charles McCarthy" 
<emmanuel222 at gmail.com>

As many of you know Franz Jagerstatter, the only 
Catholic layman who
was a formal conscientious objector to entering 
into Hitler's German
Army and who was legally executed for his refusal 
on August 9, 1943,
is to be Beatified as a martyr (the step before 
Canonization in the
Catholic Church) on October 26 of this year by the 
decision of Pope
Benedict XVI. The best biography of Franz and the 
spiritual and
emotional struggles he went through to make his 
decision is the book
that first revealed this unknown Austrian farmer 
to the world, IN
SOLITARY WITNESS by Gordan Zahn. In the 1970s a 
movie was made for
Austrian television on his life based on Gordan's 
book and other
materials that had come to light in the twenty 
years since
Gordan—himself an American Christian conscientious 
objector in WW
II—discovered his story. The film, entitled THE 
REFUSAL, caused much
consternation, soul searching and controversy in 
Austria when it
aired. Artistically it is magnificently presented 
in a stark black and
white. For those who do not speak German, it has 
very well done,
easily read English subtitles.

If you or your parish or your school or your 
religion education class
or your peace and justice group or your priest, 
minister or bishop
would like a DVD of THE REFUSAL, it is yours for 
FREE through The
Center for Christian Nonviolence (attn. John 
Carmody), 167 Fairhill
Drive, Wilmington, DE 19808 or by calling 
302-235-2925 or by emailing
the website below. If you can send $5 to cover the 
cost of the padded
envelope, the DVD disc, its case and the mailing 
charge, it would be
appreciated—but this in no way is a condition for 
receiving THE
REFUSAL.

The immediate pertinence of this film at this time 
is that Franz
Jagerstatter is to be Beatified a martyr in about 
three weeks. Every
Christian parish, especially every Catholic 
parishes, should be
legitimately moved to make it available to their 
congregations.
Jagerstatter's struggle should be the struggle of 
every Christian who
lives under the poisoning cloud and spiritual 
pressure of a chronic
war economy with its politics of ceaseless 
"enemy-creation."  And
beyond this, a more urgent motivation should be in 
place to view this
film in the U.S., England and Australia—among many 
others—because of
the continuing conflagration and moral abomination 
that Christians
from these societies initiated and are continuing 
to participate in in
relation to the people of Iraq. There is a 
teachable moment here and
THE REFUSAL has been sent by Jesus to the Churches 
of Christianity,
through the life, suffering and martyrdom of Franz 
Jagerstatter, to
teach them a more authentic understanding of what 
Christian
discipleship means.

Do what you can to get it out there. It is a 
desperately needed
mustard seed fertilized with the blood and tears 
of a martyr.

________

www.centerforchristiannonviolence.org