I don’t know, but blaming Ratzinger for being a Nazi is like blaming a kid for being a prostitute. Ratzinger had probably as much of a choice not join the Hitler-Jugend as I had not to join the “Pionýr” (young communists).

I don’t know, but blaming Ratzinger for being a Nazi is like blaming a kid for being a prostitute. Ratzinger had probably as much of a choice not join the Hitler-Jugend as I had not to join the “Pionýr” (young communists).

I’m not blaming him. all males Were forced to join by 1941 and later placed in Wehrmacht units or mainly home defense. Ratzinger claims to have been assigned to an antiaircraft unit towards the end of the war. In short, reaction to my left handed comment has gotten out of hand. I really don’t give a rat’s ass what he did as a kid. there were tens of thousands of German youth conscripted and failure to comply meant a detention camp for the duration. As I said, it was a reaction to the picture not a condemnation of the pope.

Cap’t Jack

Too bad that he had to become Pope Benedict, as he could have had a great career in movies.

Coldheart Tucker - 24 November 2012 01:43 PM

That and other things are in his latest book.

The star of Bethlehem was a supernova, the one that German astronomer Johanes Kepler said happened around 7 to 6 B.C. According to Popestronomer Benedict, that’s when the baby Jesus came to this mortal world.
The birth of Jesus is a historic reality.
Jesus probably wasn’t born in Bethlehem. It was perhaps in Nazareth.
There were no ox or donkey in that place. That’s just dumb, says the Pope!
The Virgin was actually a virgin. That’s not dumb, says the Pope! “Is it true what we said that Jesus Christ is the only son of God and that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary?” he asks. “The answer, without any reservations, is yes.” And that’s it. His reasoning is that, if God was able to do it because he has full power over matter. Real power, not like that Higgs Boson impostor. “If he doesn’t have full power over all energy and matter,” the Pope points out, “then he’s not God.” Of course.
Astrology is stupid, the Pope says. It’s baby who guides the star, not the star that guides the kid.

Reading this fascinating story, a song popped into my head and since I can’t seem to shake it now I’ll try to infect someone else with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9ALiADrJro

Thevillageatheist - 26 November 2012 11:15 AM

Many Catholics disagree with many of his views as well.

Germans find all Nazi comparisons extremely offensive, including the one made above. It’s like calling African-Americans niggers.

No it isn’t, nor was it meant to be. I said the pope was a nazi not all Germans. Yes there is a growing nationalist movement in Germany but it’s still small enough to regulate and it’s mainly a knee jerk reaction to immigrants. And Benedict was a member of the Hitler jungend. I also know that he isn’t now . My comment was meant to be facetious and not an ethnic slam. I don’t know any Germans who relate in any way to the third reich, especially the kids. They’d like to forget that period in history but their teachers won’t let them. And your reference to African-Americans won’t wash. Germans don’t call themselves nazis as a cultural epithet.

Cap’t Jack

I understand that it was not meant to be. Yes, you said the Pope was a Nazi not all Germans, and I still find this extremely offensive, and so do the vast majority of Germans, even if they totally dislike the Pope. Americans don’t seem to get this. Nazi comparisons are taboo. It’s like comparing African-Americans to monkeys. I understand that you find that hard to believe. Germans are even outraged about terms like grammar Nazi. The term suggests that Nazis were just strict people. But they were extremely well organized mass murders.

No, there isn’t a growing neo-Nazi movement in Germany. It has remained pretty stable over the past decades. These neo-Nazi movements exists in all Western countries including the US. We need to be vigilant and we are.

Yes, Benedict was a member of the Hitler-Jugend and so were 98% of the children at the time. From this you can’t conclude that he was or became a Nazi when he was young.

You are also wrong that today’s teenagers want to forget that period in history, but their teachers won’t let them. The opposite is true. Both adults and teenagers know that keeping the memory and understanding what happened is key to making sure this never gets repeated.

Maybe you think that Germans got no sense of humor. They do. You just won’t find the term Nazi. Saying that Benedict is a Nazi isn’t funny.