BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

As a former devout Catholic, this sort of fuzzy P.R. and obfuscation coupled with fence-sitting was typical from Catholic hierachy. And one of the things that drove me from the Church. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Pope Benedict XVI to make a "very clear" rejection of Holocaust denials after the Vatican's rehabilitation of a former bishop who questioned whether 6 million Jews were gassed by the Nazis. Merkel's rare and public demand came amid increasing outrage among Germany's Roman Catholic leaders over the pope's decision to lift the excommunication of British-born Richard Williamson. Merkel said she "does not believe" there has been adequate clarification of the Vatican's position on the Holocaust amid the controversy. Benedict last week expressed "full and indisputable solidarity" with Jews and warned against any denial of the horror of the Holocaust, but several leading German bishops have decried the decision and call...

Holocaust survivors' children sue Germany for therapy fees When I read this article below - I was filled with mixed emotions. I sympathize that the children of Holocaust survivors suffer deep psychic scars and understand this lawsuit. On the other hand, I have to think about the many hearings I have sat in for moral support of abuse victims when they ask for child support in divorce or separation. The abusers will say yes and then disappear or never bother to pay for therapy for their own children - figuring "let the law find me" or "let her spend more money trying to force me to pay." Deadbeat parent organizations spend years chasing this stuff down. Sometimes, as in my own case, the other parent just plays games to be punitive. Another thing I thought of - is the compensatory claims made by African Americans for slavery here in the U.S. Perhaps this doesn't compare but it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. Is it a reasonable or unreasona...