* Unfortunately, "all of those Nazi things" actually happened and can't be wished away;
* His cousin was euthanized by the Nazis in 1941 as part of their program for eliminating people who were disabled and were therefore considered to be "undesirables". His body was more than likely cremated in one of the early SS single-purpose ovens designed to only burn one body at a time. Guess where the Nazis got their ideas about eugenics, sterilization, and euthanasia? If you guessed the US, you would be correct. By 1942-1943, the Nazis were using ovens made by Topf & Söhne that burned continuously to dispose of the millions of bodies of Jews and other people the Nazis were killing in the death camps as well as the concentration/work camps;
* Equally unfortunate is the fact that the Pope did serve in the Hitler Youth as did all Germans starting at age 14 in 1941. In 1943, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps. As German manpower dwindled in 1945, he was then trained in the German infantry. He deserted before the war drew to a close as did a lot of German troops at that time. He states that he wanted nothing to do with the Hitler Youth but we really know nothing of his actual state of mind in 1941. His brother states he was less than enthusiastic about the Hitler Youth, but how do we know he's telling the truth? It's been the practice of a lot of former Nazis to claim they did very little in WWII, or that they were just following orders;
* Yes, I too believe he's got "a lot of things he has never discussed about his life", but I don't think I mean that the same way you do;
* As for being a pedophile, we really don't know one way or the other, but why did he attempt to cover up the actions of priests involved in such behavior? His 2001 letter "De delictis gravioribus" clarified the confidentiality of internal church investigations, as defined in the 1962 document "Crimen Sollicitationis", into accusations made against priests of certain crimes, including sexual abuse. Why did he do this? As a Cardinal, Benedict had been the man in charge of enforcing that document for almost 20 years. While bishops hold the secrecy pertained only internally, and did not preclude investigation by civil law enforcement, the letter was often seen as promoting a coverup. Later, as Pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to cover up the molestation of three boys in Texas, but sought and obtained diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Again, why did he do this?
Nobody here is advocating for the killing of all Catholics....I'm not sure where you're getting that unless you're allowing your defensiveness on this issue to get in the way of rational thought.
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