[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INVOCATION BY FATHER ROBERT F. DRINAN, S.J., NATIONAL DAYS OF 
                       REMEMBRANCE COMMEMORATION

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 5, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on April 16, Members of Congress, members of 
the Diplomatic Corps, and hundreds of survivors of the Holocaust and 
their friends gathered here in the Capitol Rotunda for the National 
Days of Remembrance commemoration. The United States Holocaust Memorial 
Council was established by Congress to preserve the memory of the 
victims of the Holocaust. I commend the Council and the members of the 
Days of Remembrance Committee, chaired by my good friend Benjamin Meed, 
for their vigilant and genuine adherence to their extraordinarily 
important task.
  One of the first acts of the Council was to establish the annual Days 
of Remembrance commemoration to mirror similar observances held in 
Israel and throughout our Nation and elsewhere in the world. This year, 
the commemoration centered on the 50th anniversary of the Nuremberg 
trials. The observance was a reminder of the difficult process of first 
coping and then healing that all survivors and their families and loved 
ones had to endure.
  Father Robert J. Drinan, our former colleague and a great friend, 
delivered a characteristically moving and meaningful invocation to this 
commemoration. In his current capacity has a professor of law at 
Georgetown University, Father Drinan continues his outspoken support 
for human rights throughout the world that he was so well known for in 
his 10 distinguished years in Congress.
  His prayer at the National Day of Remembrance commemoration set a 
tone for a commemoration with a dual purpose. First, to be thankful for 
the end of the Holocaust that came with the Nuremberg trials, and 
second, to give a stern warning to citizens of the world that the 
Holocaust must never be forgotten and that crimes against humanity 
cannot be ignored or go unpunished. I commend my colleagues' attention 
to the remarks of our distinguished former colleague:

                  Invocation by Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

       Let us pray. Oh God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we thank 
     you for humanity's first denunciation 50 years ago of crimes 
     against humanity.
       We express our gratitude oh Lord to all those who have 
     publicized and prosecuted crimes against peace like those 
     punished at Nuremberg.
       We beseech you, oh God of justice, to keep alive in our 
     souls that horror of genocide which has permeated the world 
     in the last five decades.
       Inspire us, Oh God of love, to remember at all times that 
     silence is the one unforgivable sin.
       Impart your benediction, Oh Lord of the universe, on the 
     leaders of the Holocaust Memorial, on members of the Congress 
     and on all here present. We stand here oh Lord as your 
     children and ask your forgiveness for our past inaction and 
     indeed our complicity with evil.
       We pray, Oh God, that the grace of this unforgettable 
     occasion will deepen our determination to protect the 
     precious rights of every child of God in the entire universe.
       This we ask in your name and with your help. Amen.

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