German conservative Ratzinger is new Pope Benedict XVI

There's a thread several pages long on this, and some of the responses relate to your question. Here, if I'm doing this right, it is:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=49865&highlight=

Saw that...thanks.

I am only recently attracted to politics, so my understanding of the impact of the previous Pope on the international political arena is limited.
I'll stay tuned in during this pontiff's reign.

A man and his wife walked into a dentist's office.The man said to the dentist: "Doctor, I am in one heck of a big hurry! I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go and play golf. So forget about the anesthetic and just pull the tooth and be done with it. I do not have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!"

The dentist thought to himself: My goodness, this is a very brave man, asking me to pull his tooth without using anything to kill the pain. So the dentist asked the man: " Which tooth is it, Sir?

The man turned to his wife and said: "Open your mouth, honey, and show the doctor which tooth hurts."


I hope some of you get my point!

Long live the pope. Seig heil!

Aw now, just because he was in the Nazi Youth Corp doesn't mean he still thinks like a Nazi. Of course it doesn't mean he doesn't think like a Nazi either, but since he's god's representative on Earth we'd better do what he says or else phtt!—heigh ho heigh ho it's off to hell we go.

Frank - there's white smoke coming out of my chimney - hey I musta got it!!!

I know already that I don't agree with the new Pope on a lot of issues, but I am willing to let him slide on the Nazi-ism charge. It is entirely possible that he just did what was expected of him, rather than acting out of convidtion.

I wondered how long it was going to take before someone brought it up. Is it really an issue?

I suspect it's not an issue.

To be fair, apparently he was forced to join by the laws of the time.

Joseph Ratzinger

Of course he was forced, many were.

This is more important:

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Pope 'shelved' sex abuse claims
April 20, 2005 - 11:45AM

A former trainee priest who has accused the founder of an influential Catholic order of sexual abuse said today that new Pope Benedict XVI deliberately shelved a probe into his claims for six years.

Jose Barba is one of eight ex-members of the Rome-based Legion of Christ, most of them Mexicans, who accuse the order's founder, Marcial Maciel, of sexually abusing them from the 1940s through the 1960s.

The allegations are too old to be investigated under criminal law but the nine brought a suit against Maciel, 84, under the Vatican's canonical law in 1998.

The case was filed at the Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who was elected Pope Benedict XVI today.

Barba, spokesman for the accusers, says the claims were hushed up because Maciel and his ultra-conservative order were close to Pope John Paul II.

"The question is: Was Cardinal Ratzinger totally and solely responsible? I think that to a great extent he was because it was his department," said Barba, now 68 and a professor of Latin American studies at Mexico City's ITAM university.


Maciel stepped down as leader of the Legion of Christ, citing his age, a month after the Vatican finally announced last December it would take up the abuse allegations.

Barba alleged that the Church's willingness to probe the issue could have been an attempt by Ratzinger to clean up the matter to improve his chances of becoming pope.

"It would have been very embarrassing for the cardinal to turn up at the conclave with the reputation of someone who had covered up a scandal," the Mexican said.

Maciel, who lives in Rome, has denied the abuse charges.

"The Legion of Christ struggles to express how deeply we regret that the accusers attempt to tar the Vatican, Cardinal Ratzinger, and even Pope John Paul II with the stain of these false allegations," it said in a statement that has been on its Web site for three years.

Founded in 1941, the order has around 500 priests and 2,500 seminarians in some 20 countries including Spain and the United States.

A Mexican bishop handed Ratzinger a letter in 2000 outlining allegations of abuse by Maciel against a Spanish priest, said Barba, who accuses the Legion founder of molesting him in Rome in the 1950s.

Barba said that when he handed another letter to a Vatican official in 2002 detailing alleged abuses, he was told that the missive would be forwarded to Ratzinger.

Maciel was warmly praised by John Paul on the 60th anniversary of his ordination last November but the probe against him was announced just days later.

- Reuters

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/04/20/1113854240522.html?oneclick=true#

I do believe that he was forced to join the nazi youth corp - I really do. But its ironic that they were fighting against Poland, Pope john Paul's country.

Cloning is a weapon of mass destruction. I am still trying to get my head around that.

Could be "clowning is a weapon of mass distraction". Dunno. I need to brush up on my Latin.

hahaha clowning!!

Oh well, gotta get back to work now. bye for today

We Have a Pope--And a Potential Rift

I myself think this will only mean that MORE Catholics leave for more "progressive" denominations like the UCC

And who's to know if it's not in fact in God's plan? The Catholic Church is suffering from arterio-sclerosis.

What's the UCC?

We've done that. He was a kid. Now, about the future......

Apparently the Simon Wiesenthal Center has given the new Pope its "seal of approval". If they are not concerned about the Pope's involvement with the Hitler youth, that's good enough for me. Obviously, living in Germany, in those times, the Pope was obliged to join the group.



http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=253162&ct=716941