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17. 12. 09. - 16:00

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17. 12. 09. - 16:00

Fritzl may receive Christmas blessing

By Thomas Hochwarter

Incest monster Josef Fritzl could be given a Christmas blessing from a local bishop, it has emerged.

Vienna newspaper Heute reports today (Thurs) Sankt Pölten Bishop diocesan bishop Klaus Küng is to bless inmates at a traditional Christmas mass at the grim Stein prison in Krems, Lower Austria where Fritzl is being held.

It is unclear whether Fritzl will go to the mass or not, but if he does, like other prisoners, he will receive the bishop’s blessing.

The daily reported the mass will be held on 22 December for organisational reasons, adding that fried salmon and potato salad were for dinner on 24 December at Stein jail.

Fritzl will also, along with other inmates, get special privileges on the day with prisoners allowed to sleep-in on 24 December instead of being woken as normal at 7am. They will then be allowed to play billiards or table soccer.

Fritzl, 74, is serving a life sentence after he kept his daughter Elisabeth jailed in a dungeon beneath his family home in Amstetten and repeatedly raped her and fathered seven children by her, one of which he let die when it was born with breathing complications.

According to latest reports he does little other than stare at the walls in his one-man cell all day at the jail.

Security measures on the wing where Fritzl is being kept were reportedly upped amid fears other prisoners were planning to kill him.

Claims that Fritzl might consider committing suicide were however recently dismissed by a leading psychiatrist.

Adelheid Kastner – who was assigned to determine Fritzl’s psychological state ahead of his trial – said: "Fritzl crossed so many borders but he has some nevertheless. He would never commit suicide as he has got certain ideas of justice. He now wants to take responsibility for his crimes."

Kastner, who recently released a book about fathers who abuse their children called "Täter - Väter. Väter als Täter am eigenen Kind" (Offenders – Fathers), also rubbished Fritzl’s claims he acted purely based on a horrible childhood shaped by a cruel mother, stressing he "always had the choice" what to do with his life.

"He was not insane at any point," she added.

Austrian Times

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