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April 20, 2005
Smoke Signals Part Deux
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Pope Benedict XVI aka Joseph Ratzinger. No one can really say what P.B.16 might do; although it doesn't look good. From what I've gathered in the news so far we do know a little about Joseph Ratzinger.
-He was a Nazi in his youth. The war ended when he was 18 and thus his involvment in the Nazi party.
-He seems more concerned with applauding the 99% of priests that do not abuse children than dealing with the 1% who do.
"In the Church, priests also are sinners. But I am personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign, as the percentage of these offenses among priests is not higher than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower.
and
"In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1 percent of priests are guilty of acts of this type. The constant presence of these news items does not correspond to the objectivity of the information nor to the statistical objectivity of the facts."
While Pope B16 seems earnest in his speeches as Pope, only time will tell what his true agenda seeks to achieve. In short Benedict, your actions will speak louder than your words. God be with you.
Posted by mermu at April 20, 2005 11:53 AM
Comments
I'm not saying that he should be judged harshly for being a member of the "Hitler Youth". I personally think that one can make mistakes in their youth and regret them later. But even more so, I don't believe he would have had much of a choice in being a "Hitler Youth" either. I do think it's an interesting tidbit about his life. I'm more interested in his actions as Pope. From what I can tell, it looks like he's taking a page out of Bush's political tactics (you know, creating a deforestation bill and calling it "healthy forests"). Here's an excerpt from the linked article: Bush's "healthy forests" law lets companies log large, commercially valuable trees in national forests in exchange for clearing smaller, more fire-prone trees and brush. His "clear skies" proposal would give power plants, factories and refineries more time to reduce air pollution. Environmentalists call those labels deliberate misnomers. So far Benedict is promising to be a "united and not a divider". We'll see how far he's willing to take that when he reacts to Spain's approval of gay marriage.
Posted by: Me at April 22, 2005 12:42 PM
The whole "Hitle Youth" thing is really unfair. Being a member of the compulsory Hitlerjugend makes you about as much a Nazi as being a member of the "Young Pioneers" in the former Iron Courtain countries made you a Communist. A kid doesn't really have much of a choice in that situation.
Yeah, I'm not happy about B16's conservative credentials. But what do you expect from the head of the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" whose previous name was, after all, "Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition".
What bothers me more about him was his anti-Kerry campaigning during last year's presidental election (see this Salon article).
But now that he no longer has the role of JPII's hatchet man, maybe he'll mellow out? Who knows, maye be the Holly Spirit will act in mysterious ways...
Posted by: stepan at April 22, 2005 10:33 AM
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