VATICAN CITY, Nov. 28 -- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told a Vatican conference on mental health Thursday that in 1941 Nazis killed his cousin who suffered from Down's syndrome as part of a systematic round-up of the mentally ill. Ratzinger, a leading Vatican authority on church doctrine, warned the 7,000 delegates at a pontifical council on health there was a continuing 'risk of barbarism.'
Ratzinger, who hails from Germany, said that when he was 14-years- old, his younger cousin was deported on police orders and shortly afterward the family received word the boy had 'died of pneumonia.' He said it became clear to his village of Marktl am Inn that those deported and who were subsequently reported to have died from pneumonia were part of a Nazi campaign of liquidation. 'Finally there was no more doubt about what was happening, which was the systematic elimination of all those who were not considered productive,' said Ratzinger. He said one of the tasks of Christians was to recognize, respect and promote in full the dignity of the mentally handicapped.
