US: President Wilson and KArl of Austria

Christopher Jones writes: The US is to blame for dynamiting the old order.  The US refusal to negotiate an armstice with the Austro Hungarian monarch (Karl who was recently beatified) and Wilson’s idea of self determination is behind much of Europe’s woes: this can be laid squarely at the door of the US and their devil-president Woodrow Wilson.  RH: Many WAISers have objected to Christopher’s intemperate language. Wilson has his critics, among them the historian Thomas Baiiey, but none would speak of his in this way. Here is what Wikipedia says about Karl of Austria:

 
Karl of Austria (August 17, 1887 - April 1, 1922), more formally known as Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, was (among other titles) the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary and Bohemia, and the last monarch of the Habsburg Dynasty. Karl was the son of Otto Franz of Austria (1865-1906), younger brother of Princess Josepha of Saxony and Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered World War I. In 1911 he was married to Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. His reign began in 1916. In 1917, Karl secretly sued for a separate peace with France, deserting his German ally. When news of the overture leaked, he denied all involvement, until the French published letters signed by him. On November 11, 1918 he proclaimed formally “I relinquish every participation in the administration of the State” but did not abdicate his thrones.[1] (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/abdication_karl.htm) He fled to Switzerland after the empire collapsed at the end of the war, but refused to abdicate. Encouraged by Hungarian nationalists, he sought twice in the early 1920s to reclaim the throne of Hungary, but failed, due to various factors including the betrayal of the Hungarian Regent Miklós Horthy, whom Karl had helped to appoint. He died on the island of Madeira in 1922.

Some historians have seen Karl as an honourable figure who tried as emperor-king to halt World War I. Helmut Rumpler, head of the Habsburg commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has described Karl as “a dilettante, far too weak for the challenges facing him, out of his depth, and not really a politician.” [2] (http://www.iht.com/articles/541780.html)

Beatification:
Karl has been solemnly declared blessed in the ceremony of beatification by the Roman Catholic Church. The cause or campaign began in 1949 where testimony of his holiness was collected in the Archdiocese of Vienna. In 1954, he was declared venerable the first step on the process of named a saint. The guild established for the promotion of his cause has created this website (http://www.beatificationemperorcharles.info/English/home%20EN.htm).

The Roman Catholic Church has praised Karl for putting his Christian faith first in making political decisions, and for his perceived role as a peacemaker during the war. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna has been the Church’s sponsor for his beatification. The controversy (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6126292/) over his beatification in Austria is based on the interpretation of Karl’s conduct during his three year reign and contemporary debate over separation of Church and State in Austria, and a small neo-monarchist movement. On 14 April 2003, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, promulgated Karl of Austria’s “heroic virtues.” On 21 December 2003, the Congregation certified, on the basis of three expert medical opinions, that a miracle in 1960 occurred through the intercession of Karl. The miracle attributed to Karl was the scientifically inexplicable healing of a Brazilian nun with varicose veins; she was able to get out of bed after she prayed for his beatification. On 3 October 2004, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Pope also declared 21 October, the date of Karl’s marriage in 1911 to Princess Zita, as Karl’s feast day. The beatification has caused controversy because Karl authorized his army’s use of poison gas during the First World War. [3] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3710810.stm)

RH: The controversy is understandable.  It makes a mockery of beatification and sainthood.  In order to make more saints. the Vatican has reduced the number of required miracles to one. This alleged miracle is, shall we say, dubious. Credulity is widespread in Latin America. In Mexico at this moment, the faithful are flocking to see  a marking of a cliff face made by the water from a drainage pipe. They swear they see the Virgin of Guadalupe.  It is really a Rorshach test,  I did not see the Virgin of Guadalupe. I just saw a stain on the wall. I must be lacking in imagination. Incidentally, it is odd that the Pope went to a hospital with a throat ailment o the Day of Saint Blasius, who cures throat ailments.