"Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty." Simone Weil
When Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, a few people asked me what I thought about a German Pope. My initial response: Nothing. He'll have little impact on me or my life. He's the head of the Catholic Church and I'm Jewish.
Well, wait a minute. There's the Hitler Youth thing.
We shouldn't hold that against him, the Vatican said. He was a teenager, too young to form mature, reasoned opinions. Well. Okay then. HUH?
Nazi Germany - Any Impact on Teens?
Historians tell us many young people at the time had little choice during Hitler's sweeping "reform movement" -- they were forced to join the Hitler Youth or be branded as unpatriotic, and worse, 'Jew-loving.'
Lots of teenagers were caught up in the national fervor of the times, swept along by the marching and the uniforms and the excitement. They loved the parades.
What, they didn't notice the vicious, hate-filled rhetoric swirling through the air? The beatings and lootings and mob violence against "inferiors" played out with abandon in public
Nazi propoganda and obscene behavior had no effect on any young Germans, including Joseph Ratzinger? The mind boggles at such a claim.
We're also told that the universal German mind set was different: conformity typically overpowering personal primacy. So German teens, including Joseph Ratzinger were ...wait for it... just following orders.
Hang on. The dichotomy of adolescence is the ultimate struggle between an intense desire to conform and the primal need to rebel. The teenage psyche is geared to discover individuality at least in part through conflict. Especially against authority. Unless you're German, I guess.
A conundrum for sure. And think about this: our own teenage years provided the most vivid memories of our lives. Those were the formative experiences and feelings that shaped the adults we became.
Just as we were touched by an inspirational teacher, a first kiss, the initial devotion to an idea or a cause, many of us were scarred by bad parents, cruel coaches, "mean girls" and, dare I say, pedophile priests.
All of us were profoundly affected by the major historic events of the times in which we were coming of age. As were our parents, grandparents, every generation before and since.
The Great Depression. World War II. The Holocaust. The assassinations of JFK, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Vietnam. Watergate. Oklahoma City. Columbine. 9/11. Katrina. Iraq and Afghanistan. Just the highlights, it's a long list.
German teens in the 1930's and 40's may have appeared as perfect little automatons, goose-stepping in unison to the Party Line. But they were also individual human beings with the ability to think, and the passionate emotions unique to their age group.
There's no way they escaped the streams of hatred, the stench of evil, the vile presence of anti-Semitism that pervaded their daily lives -- possibly their homes too. It must have had an impact on their impressionable minds and hearts.
Whether through rebellion or conformity, all teenagers inevitably absorb and mimic adult attitudes and behavior. When Joseph Ratzinger became an adult, he was drafted into the German Army, served in an antiaircraft unit.
Joseph Ratzinger, Anti Nazi?
So what truly motivated Joseph Ratzinger as a Hitler Youth and as a German soldier fighting the allies -- necessary conformity or ugly zeal?
Father Ratzinger claimed he loathed the Nazi doctrine, that it turned him toward the moral theology of the Catholic Church. Could be true. Ironically, our best hope is that fundamentalist Catholic dogma ultimately prevailed.
We know that some German teens rebelled against Nazi violence and its corrupt teachings by helping their persecuted friends and neighbors. Why not Ratzinger? And if he did help, why not say so now?
Why not indeed. He can't even bring himself to unequivocally condemn the Nazi movement, his country's complicity and even his own small part in it, however coerced ... or the Holocaust.
But when, as Pope Benedict XVI, he stepped up onto the holy ground of Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, he hedged. Think about that: he hedged.
Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
“The pope spoke like a historian, as somebody observing from the sidelines, about things that shouldn’t happen. But what can you do? He was part of them.” Reuven Rivlin, speaker of Israel's Parliament
Yad Vashem, by the way, commemorates ALL who were killed by the Nazis -- Jews, Catholics, Poles, Russians, Gays, Blacks, the Disabled and Mentally Ill. It also celebrates the many 'Righteous Gentiles' who helped save Jewish and other lives.
If the pope was truly outraged by the Nazis' murderous intent and the full horror of the Holocaust, why not say so, in that holy place, in the strongest --and clearest-- possible terms?
The Vatican claims he's said it before, why repeat himself. Are they insane? It should be repeated every time he or any leader goes to Israel claiming to support peace. Never Again should be an international watchword about the Holocaust and all genocide around the world.
The Denier Priest
There's more. Why did the pope reverse the excommunication of a priest known to be a Holocaust denier? The Vatican claims he didn't know that. Whoa. Excommunication is the harshest punishment in Catholicism. The process to reverse excommunication is huge.
He didn't know? Absurd. It's like a Governor staying a murderer's execution without hearing the facts. But hey, that priest just sort of denies the Holocaust. He's not a murderer. So Benedict's okay with it.
It's preposterous. Oh wait, maybe not.
"[I]t is impossible to carry out a sincere dialogue with those who have contempt for any actions on the part of their opponents other than abject surrender." Marvin Folkertsma, Ph.D.
The pope doesn't want to anger the Palestinians again. He's been there before, in 2006. If he acknowledged his country's participation in the atrocity of the Holocaust, if he embraced the concepts of culpability, responsibility and penance in the name of seeking peace ... uh oh.
If he did that in the Middle East he'd risk alienating a radical government and a major populace which espouses a modern day version of the very same thing.
Peace in the Middle East?
It's axiomatic. Verbally attack Jews and our leaders demand reason and redress and justice. Verbally attack Palestinians and their radical leaders call for violence and death and destruction.
So now, May 2009, during a visit to support Peace in the Middle East, the pope avoided reference to the murder of 6 million Jews, even avoided using the words Nazi or German. Didn't include any reference to his own supposed opposition to the Nazis.
Then he went to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine. And to the Dome of the Rock, the holy shrine where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad rose to heaven. A shonda. A travesty of shame.
GETTY
Next he'll go to Bethlehem for Mass in Manger Square. Then Nazareth, where he'll celebrate another Mass on Thursday. Both controlled by Palestinians now. You can't go there as a tourist. Even to see the pope.
Me, I wouldn't want to see him anywhere. Oy vey is mier. Oh woe is me. And woe to all Jews who still expect help from the Vatican ... help that never came when needed most, during the Holocaust.
We won't get help now to bring peace to the Middle East. The Pope and the Vatican, with their endless focus on PR and damage control, are giving the world and Islamic zealots exactly what they want -- an excuse for more anti-Semitism and chaos.
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Max Rivlin-Nadler
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Comments
Ratzinger is a rat and a nazi. monkey fingered.
Rated for so many reasons.
Also, being a German, it must be tough for him to talk about the holocaust. On the one hand, yes, it was an awful, horrific event, of which there are only a few times in history where more horror and complicity was seen on the part of both the government and the populace. On the other hand, his countrymen were that populace. The shared guilt and shame over that must be well nigh intolerable, and I'm sure the German people of his age and older remember that, every day. That being said, we should never forget, but we must also learn to move on. Forgiveness isn't just meant for one's enemies; as a Christian, it's also important to learn to forgive yourself, and I believe that's what the Pope is doing, both in a personal sense, and as a German. In short, the German people know the horrors and atrocities they committed. They paid the price, they wallowed in guilt and shame and now; finally, as most of the people responsible are dead and dying, they've moved on. Making them pay more at this point means holding those not responsible liable to pay for the sins of their forefathers. Not a very progressive idea if you ask me.
Rated.
Steve, JPII, I don't know. So many concentration camps in Poland. So many pedophiles protected under his watch. The Vatican is more into PR than guidance.
Suzn, that's what I'm talkin about.
Owl, have a good think and tell us the results. It's always interesting to hear your brain in action.
Buffy, you and me both.
EofC, of Course he's avoiding the topic, that was my point!
Thank you, Ben. Jeez.
aka, we seem to stay on the same page. I like that.
Religion as we know it is on its way out…and men like him will wield less and less power and influence as time passes.
As for “peace in the Middle East”—so long as there is a state of Israel in the Middle East and there are any Arabs living there at all…there will never be anything even remotely resembling last peace in that area. It just ain’t gonna happen.
And this pope is the last man in the world to try to chance that.
Great post Sally.
Title: POPE 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry
Confidential letter reveals Ratzinger ordered bishops to keep allegations secret
Jamie Doward, religious affairs correspondent The Observer, Sunday 24 April 2005 09.58 BST
Article history
Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had 'obstructed justice' after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.
The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001.
It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II's successor last week.
Lawyers acting for abuse victims claim it was designed to prevent the allegations from becoming public knowledge or being investigated by the police. They accuse Ratzinger of committing a 'clear obstruction of justice'.
The letter, 'concerning very grave sins', was sent from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that once presided over the Inquisition and was overseen by Ratzinger.
It spells out to bishops the church's position on a number of matters ranging from celebrating the eucharist with a non-Catholic to sexual abuse by a cleric 'with a minor below the age of 18 years'. Ratzinger's letter states that the church can claim jurisdiction in cases where abuse has been 'perpetrated with a minor by a cleric'.
The letter states that the church's jurisdiction 'begins to run from the day when the minor has completed the 18th year of age' and lasts for 10 years.
It orders that 'preliminary investigations' into any claims of abuse should be sent to Ratzinger's office, which has the option of referring them back to private tribunals in which the 'functions of judge, promoter of justice, notary and legal representative can validly be performed for these cases only by priests'.
'Cases of this kind are subject to the pontifical secret,' Ratzinger's letter concludes. ****Breaching the pontifical secret at any time while the 10-year jurisdiction order is operating carries penalties, including the threat of excommunication.****
The letter is referred to in documents relating to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against a church in Texas and Ratzinger on behalf of two alleged abuse victims. By sending the letter, lawyers acting for the alleged victims claim the cardinal conspired to obstruct justice.
Daniel Shea, the lawyer for the two alleged victims who discovered the letter, said: 'It speaks for itself. You have to ask: why do you not start the clock ticking until the kid turns 18? It's an obstruction of justice.'
Father John Beal, professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America, gave an oral deposition under oath on 8 April last year in which he admitted to Shea that the letter extended the church's jurisdiction and control over sexual assault crimes.
The Ratzinger letter was co-signed by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone who gave an interview two years ago in which he hinted at the church's opposition to allowing outside agencies to investigate abuse claims.
'In my opinion, the demand that a bishop be obligated to contact the police in order to denounce a priest who has admitted the offence of paedophilia is unfounded,' Bertone said.
Shea criticised the order that abuse allegations should be investigated only in secret tribunals. 'They are imposing procedures and secrecy on these cases. If law enforcement agencies find out about the case, they can deal with it. But you can't investigate a case if you never find out about it. If you can manage to keep it secret for 18 years plus 10 the priest will get away with it,' Shea added.
A spokeswoman in the Vatican press office declined to comment when told about the contents of the letter. 'This is not a public document, so we would not talk about it,' she said.
During the reign of Pope Paul, during the 1960's...Ratzinger was actually on a list of "heretics". He is a throwback to the Middle Ages who opposed much of what Popes John XXIII and Paul VII were attempting in Vatican II.
He was John Paul II's "right hand man"...and that "made for media" icon had this Nazi working in the background to slowly move the church backward. JPII, for all his "charm" was also a "fundamentalist" in matters of doctrine...and he kept the progressive wing of the church stagnant...as Ben Sen indicated, allowing great theologians to be silenced.
As a Catholic, I am entreatied to pray for him at weekly mass...and it sticks in my craw to do so.
His denial and cover-up of the sex-scandals, return to reliance on the idea of "no salvation outside the Church" and his abject disrespect for Islam and Judaism make him a hideous relic of earlier times.
I do not like him one bit.
So this bozo is NOT infallible when making speeches and commentary, and your average progressive Catholic abhors the idea of any kind of "infallibility" anyway.
Be careful what you hope for. Fundamentalist Catholic dogma is pretty anti-semitic. As this (scarred) recovering Catholic recalls, at any rate.
The one thing that I would say remotely (very remotely) in defense of Ratzinger is that anti-semitism was pretty normal in Europe before the Holocaust.
DeliaBlack: Bill Maher said that this pope was once a sort of behind-the-scenes hustler for the previous pope. He wrote a memo advising Catholic parishes to stonewall allegations of abuse by priests (and I guess nuns, too) until the statue of limitations had run out. He didn't want the church losing money.
My memory is limited but as I recall, Ratzinger has been the most powerful man in the Vatican for a long, long time as the head of, I believe it is still called, the office of the inquisition. Or it's functional equivalent. I believe its role is to enforce dogma. The ultimate dogma of the church is and always has been the authority of the church. Period. It's what matters. It's all that matters ultimately. Bill Maher is one you can often count on to speak truth from a foundation of fact.
As a devout child I believed that the white smoke that signals the election of a new pope, as opposed to the black smoke that signals that the latest ballot didn't succeed, was caused by god. White or black - god did it. I can't say for sure but that must have been what we were taught, either overtly or by implication. The church = god if you're a good Catholic. There's a more liberal viewpoint, of course, but Ratzinger is not one of the liberals.
I'm too tired to read all of Delia Black's longer comment now but this pisses me off enough that I can't wait until I get some sleep to shoot my mouth off some. Sorry. :(
No ovens the next time. Next time the whole world will scream and bully and demand that the Jews just to walk passively into the sea. Never again.
Sorry, again, for this mess. I knew I should have saved Sally for tomorrow.
Rated, of course.
Blue, as usual, we agree and as usual, I so appreciate your praise.
annette, thank you, I did my homework here and as with the political mistresses post, just had to say my piece.
Barry, my research says he had it locked politically, not a one vote squeaker. I don't think the Vatican has made any "inspired" choices in a long, long time, if ever.
Delia, there's a lot of info on Ratzinger, thanks for supplying yours. I meant to mention his outrageous protecting of pedophiles and should have. Did you know he was so powerful in the Vatican he was known as "God's Rottweiler"? Some claim to fame for a cleric, eh.
Roger, as always, thank you. I'm actually amazed more don't want to comment... oh, the pope, ho hum. Jeez.
yekdeli, this really says it all, "his abject disrespect for Islam and Judaism make him a hideous relic of earlier times." And thanks for educating me from a Catholic's point of view and on Papal rules. I want to learn whatever I can.
I would also add that anyone who thinks the Holocaust was the result of something unique and peculiar in the German psyche is ignorant of history. In our own country, terrible atrocities were visited upon slaves and Indians.
And anyone who thinks it can't happen here again needs to pay more attention to the many people who are openly advocating and justifying torture. It can happen here, it has happened here, and it will happen here again unless good people insist that our legal system prosecute those who tortured.
You are indeed covering many aspects of life in the last weeks. Impressed, as always, with your passion.
I like Ziggy Marley's idea:
======
in the name of god you kill in the name of your god
in the name of god you conquered in the name of your god
all religion should be wiped out
so that people may just live
what divides us is an illusion
made up by men in their confusion
in the name of god you kill in the name of your god
in the name of god you conquered in the name of your god
in the name of god you hate in the name of your god
in the name of god you boast in the name of your god
spoke of love no one would listen
seems everyone's trying to prove something
starting over may be the best thing
so stop the bombs and let's begin
cause this war no one can win and it seems I'll never learn
oh this war no one can win well it seems I'll never learn
in the name of god you kill in the name of your god
in the name of god in the name of your god you conquered
in the name of god in the name of your god
all religion should be wiped out
save the people stand and live
what divides us is an illusion
made up by men in their confusion
in the name of god you kill in the name of your god
in the name of god you conquered in the name of your god
in the name of god you boast in the name of your god
in the name of god you hate in the name of your god
in the name of your god, why do you kill?, why do you hate?, in the name of god, in the name of god
Tom, everything you say is true. And so sad. I actually had info about the German and Polish psyches based on studies by many academics and psychologists re why no popular rebellion against Nazis and why almost all concentration camps in Poland. I did say, "We're also told that the universal German mind set was different: conformity typically overpowering personal primacy" and waited to be bashed. Should have been less gun shy and more standup, like you.
Stim, I have to say he's always given me the creeps. Too slick, not nearly humble or pious enough to be a true believer.
Trig, the "anti-pope" .. I like it. Sad but true.
Lea, thanks, have been all over the map to keep my mind busy. Not too popular, it seems, but stimulating and cleansing to me.
gonzoid, what could *I* possibly add to your (and ziggy's) righteous comment?
bobbot, it must be disheartening and painful to see your beliefs crushed and trashed by the very leaders who should be uplifting and inspiring you to greater faith. This pope for sure owes all his flock an apology that can only come from the sackcloth and ashes Stim mentioned which won't happen.
I have no respect for this pope, notwithstanding I am not Roman Catholic. And I wrote a long post about the Holocaust Denier back when the excommunication was lifted.
http://www.opensalon.com/blog/sarah_in_usa/2009/01/28/oops_he_did_it_again
However, I went to Israel and Palestine last May, a year ago exactly. All tourists can go as they please to Nazareth and Bethlehem. Bethlehem is indeed under Palestinian Authority,as part of the territory, but not Nazareth. Nazareth is in Israel, but is a majority Arab city (60% Muslim, 30% Christian appx.)
I was able to visit Bethlehem and went thru the checkpoints. I was allowed to do so, because I am not Jewish, nor Israeli. The Israelis are forbidden to go to Bethlehem, or any territory under Palestinian Authority (Bethany, for instance). Some Palestinians who have the work permit can go to and fro, but not Israeli Jews.
Still, the Vatican has a long list of sins to atone for, including the reecent lie that the current Pope never was in the Hitler Jugend (as was in the AP yesterday or the day before). If it goes on like that, the Da Vinci Code and all other Dan Brown's books will end up being the Truth...