The Pope at Auschwitz

It's a paradox! Pope Paul II was a Pole. The current Pope, Benedict, is German by birth. And here is the Pope visiting Auschwitz whilst in Poland.

As the NY Times reports:

"Pope Benedict XVI prayed on Sunday at the cells and crematories of the concentration camp complex here, on a visit he called "particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany."

"Words fail," said Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria in 1927. The son of a policeman, he was inducted unwillingly into the Hitler Youth and the German Army. "In the end, there can only be a dread silence, a silence that itself is a heartfelt cry to God.

"Why, Lord, did you remain silent?" he said, his voice wobbling. "How could you tolerate this?"

Read the full NY Times report here.

What can one say? - save that the role of the Catholic Church is more than murky with Pius XII having turned his face from saving Jews during the Holocaust and the Church having been instrumental in assisting Nazis escape to South America after the War. The proposed canonization of Pius XII hardly seems appropriate.

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