Still, Benedict XVI's early background is likely to spur controversy when he publishes his first encyclical: "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Pope."
Carl ******************************
Heidegger began his career as a Catholic theologian. At the end of his life, he said that he had never left the Catholic Church and was given a Catholic burial. He was also a due paying Nazi Party member from the early 1930s until the end of WWII in 1945. After 1945, hardly anyone called themselves a Nazi.
When Wojtyla was invited to lead spiritual exercises before Pope Paul VI at a Lenten retreat, his first three references were to the Bible, St. Augustine and German philosopher Martin Heidegger.
As B posted, founder of Opus Dei was canonised in 2002. From that article:
Escriva's ultra-conservative movement, which recruited many of its members from Spain's wealthy and powerful families, flourished under Franco and eventually provided ministers to his governments.
Opus Dei's 84,000 members around the world deny he actively supported Franco - though Escriva went into hiding to avoid anti-clerical factions in Republican Spain when the civil war broke out in 1936.
Opus Dei's representative in the Vatican, Flavio Capucci, claimed this week that Escriva should not be criticised for his silence on the Franco regime's abuses or for letting Opus members join the dictator's governments.
"Neither the political nor religious authorities of the time criticised Franco," he said. "One of the characteristics of Opus Dei is that it allows its members freedom."
But former members have complained that Opus Dei, whose extreme members expiate sins by committing self-flagellation, exercises a cult-like control over followers. ****************************
I think there are more than a few connections between fascistic intellectual leaders of the faith like Heidegger and Ratzinger. Common to both of these men is a desire to turn the historical clock backwards to sometime before the Enlightenment.
Regards, Mike B)
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