Benedict XVI: A Champion of Peace
The ascension of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI is good news for the peace camp: he will carry on the legacy of John Paul II, whose stance against the invasion of Iraq enraged the War Party -- and inspired millions with the hope that God had not abandoned the world to the Devil. The new Pope, as head of the Congregation [for the Doctrine] of the Faith, openly disdained the Bush Doctrine when it was invoked by the U.S. government as a rationale for war: "The "concept of a 'preventive war,'" he noted, "does not appear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church." You bet it doesn't, and if I were the White House I would be expecting much more along these lines. Even as the War Party was reveling in its purported triumph, the Cardinal averred that "it was right to resist the war and its threats of destruction," declaring: "It should never be the responsibility of just one nation to make decisions for the world."
The Holy Father got that right. Even in the choice of his name, the portents are good. Pope Benedict XV was pope during World War I. He remained neutral and "in 1917 delivered the Plea for Peace, which demanded a cessation of hostilities, a reduction of armaments, a guaranteed freedom of the seas, and international arbitration."
Naturally, the smears began even before the papal conclave was over. The London Times, in a shameful piece headlined "Papal hopeful is a former Hitler Youth," informs its readers:
"The wartime past of a leading German contender to succeed John Paul II may return to haunt him as cardinals begin voting in the Sistine Chapel tomorrow to choose a new leader for 1 billion Catholics.
"Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, whose strong defence of Catholic orthodoxy has earned him a variety of sobriquets -- including 'the enforcer,' 'the panzer cardinal' and 'God's rottweiler' -- is expected to poll around 40 votes in the first ballot as conservatives rally behind him ... Unknown to many members of the church, however, Ratzinger's past includes brief membership of the Hitler Youth movement and wartime service with a German army anti- aircraft unit."
Pope Benedict -- another Kurt Waldheim. Uh, well, not quite. The author of this slime waits until the 9th paragraph, when we are finally told that he didn't have much choice in the matter:
"He joined the Hitler Youth aged 14, shortly after membership was made compulsory in 1941. He quickly won a dispensation on account of his training at a seminary. 'Ratzinger was only briefly a member of the Hitler Youth and not an enthusiastic one,' concluded John Allen, his biographer. Two years later Ratzinger was enrolled in an anti-aircraft unit that protected a BMW factory making aircraft engines. The workforce included slaves from Dachau concentration camp."
In other words, the Holy Father, like millions throughout Europe, was enslaved by the Nazis. But he's a German, and therefore automatically suspect, at least in certain circles. The smears are already coming from all the usual suspects -- for example, Andrew Sullivan hates him for the same reason he hated John Paul II -- because he won't endorse the Sullivanian cult of War and Sodomy. Tough. Let Sullivan and his fellow whiners wail and rend their hair -- this Pope means trouble for the War Party. And to that I can only add: Amen!
UPDATE: We're going to hear days and maybe even weeks of vicious attacks and whining from the liberal-left about how Benedict XVI isn't a feminist, a gay liberationist, a liberation theologist, etc. ad nauseum. But here's some sanity from the Daily Kos <http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/4/19/1678/13588>.
UPDATE II: The canard that the first German Pope in a thousand years served voluntarily in the German army during World War II is refuted here <http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pope-ratzingers-war,0,3528022.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines%3Cbr%20/%3E>: the truth is that, after being conscripted, he deserted -- at great risk to his life.
It's amazing to see the depths to which people will sink to slime anything or anyone that is perceived as holy, or having to do with religion. While this doesn't do much to convince me of the existence of God, it sure is a helluva argument for the reality of Satan.
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