It has been about 600 years since a pope resigned. Consequently, there is some confusion about what the former Pope should be called. At the moment, he is simply known as the Pope Emeritus. Whether he adopts this title as his formal title remains to be seen.
Joseph Ratzinger had been the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for about eight years. In that time, I had tried to judiciously appraise his conduct. It strikes me that Joseph Ratzinger when he was the Pope had two fatal flaws.
The first has to do with his military service in the German Army. When armies go to war, there are certain rules that must be observed. Joseph Ratzinger was a late entrant into the war called the Second World War. He was only 16 years old when he was drafted by the forces of Adolph Hitler and made to serve in the German Army. At this point, I should emphasize that I have no reservations about a man serving his country. If he is on the wrong side, it is regrettable.
In the case of Joseph Ratzinger, my complaint with him is that over the years he failed to disclose that during his service in the German Army, he became a member of the SS. For those of you who are unacquainted with the Holocaust, the SS was responsible for stamping out the Jewish race. I know that it is impossible to stamp out the Jewish race, or any other race, but Adolph Hitler had an obsession about the Jews and wanted to see them all disappear in his gas chambers.
When Ratzinger became a Pope, there is a certain similarity between what he did to arrange his own selection as Pope and what Richard Cheney did in the United States. You will recall that in 2000 when George Bush decided to run for president, he asked Richard Cheney to help him find a vice president. Significantly Richard Cheney studied the records and concluded that only he, Richard Cheney, was the proper candidate to be vice president of the United States.
Eight years ago, when the former Pope died, it turns out that the committee to locate a new Pope was headed by none other than Joseph Ratzinger. Ratzinger was an old-timer in Rome, where he headed the Office of the Inquisition. I have forgotten what the Office of the Inquisition is now called but nonetheless for 25 years Joseph Ratzinger headed that office that formerly had to do with the Inquisition.
Once he was elected Pope, Ratzinger seemed to admit that he was a member of the SS. This, my friends, is nothing to be proud of. It has to do with the effort to stamp out the Jewish race. As time went forward, there was less and less emphasis on his service record during his period with the German Army. As we proceed into his Popery, the issue of the SS now seems to be forgotten, but I remember.
In my eyes as a former soldier in World War II, there can be no such thing as forgetting serving in the SS. The SS was the division in the German Army that owed its allegiance – total allegiance – to Adolph Hitler. It seems to me that a youngster of 16 or 17 years of age could not forget taking an oath of allegiance in the SS, swearing his fidelity to Adolph Hitler. That, my friends, just does not happen. So the fact that Ratzinger over the years concealed his involvement in the SS while he was serving with the German Army tended to be forgotten. But the fact of the matter is that I have not forgotten. If I ever meet Joseph Ratzinger, I will bring that matter up as to what happened for him to become a member of the SS. The SS were fundamentalists who worshipped at the feet of Adolph Hitler. It might be said that they were zealots intent upon wiping out the Jewish race.
That is my first remark about the career of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope. Secondly, there is one more flaw in the Ratzinger biography. As soon as he became the Pope, having taken the title of Benedict XVI, it became obvious that there were American Catholics who were practicing pederasty. I cannot imagine a more frightening circumstance than to have a grown man performing pederasty on a young child. But that is what happened. Ratzinger, shortly after he became Pope, proclaimed that this was a function of the American seminaries. He was not only putting down the fabric of seminaries in the United States but he was condoning pederasty. I know he will deny this, but in my eyes, the only eyes that count, this is where I come out.
When Joseph Ratzinger becomes the Pope Emeritus, I will still hold him accountable for two thoughts. The fact that he tended to not disclose membership in the SS was one thing. Secondly he failed to straighten out the practice of despicable priestly pederasty. Over the years as it turns out, the practice of priestly pederasty has spread not only to the United States but to Ireland, and even to Germany. Ratzinger was accused of transferring priests involved in this epidemic of pederasty.
I have no intention of trying to observe all of the rules of all of the functions that go into becoming a pederast. I know that it is an outrage for grown men such as priests to become attracted to young boys with the intention of violating their anus. I wish I could find in my vocabulary some more outrage to assert in this case what I feel. I believe I have made it fairly clear.
The second thing I would hold against Ratzinger is that he apparently had no intention during his eight years as Pope to stamp out the involvement of his priests in pederasty. He did what other theologians in the Catholic Church have done, which is to transfer those accused of pederasty from one parish to another.
In the final analysis, when it became obvious that Ratzinger had to deal with the matter of pederasty among his priesthood, he apologized to those youngsters in Ireland who were the victims. It is nice that he made an apology but the point is he should have excommunicated a number of priests who were involved in the practice of pederasty. I expect that the point had to do with his covering up his association with the SS and secondly with the failure to vigorously pursue the priests, with the idea of separating them from the Catholic faithful.
Ratzinger has only been Pope Emeritus for one day now, this being Friday, the first of March. We know that no man is perfect but in the position that Ratzinger held, he should have been outraged by the conduct of his priests that took place in the United States as well as in European countries. But he elected to treat things as normal. I do not agree with things being treated as normal when there is pederasty going on. Apparently that is the way that Ratzinger tended to want it.
Finally as the Pope Emeritus settles into his life of contemplation, I do not wish him ill will. He was wrong in covering up his association with the SS and he was wrong in failing to use the offices of his Popery to drive pederasts into excommunication. I guess that I am getting soft because I wish Ratzinger a pleasant reign as Pope Emeritus. My guess is that the title of Pope Emeritus will be a footmark in the history of the Church. As one old Second World War soldier to another, I welcome you into your retirement and hope to hear very little from you. Hearing little of you would assure me that Joseph Ratzinger has at last found peace.
E. E. CARR
March 1, 2013
Essay 737
NOTE: this is the first essay I wrote after a hospitalization for pneumonia and influenza.
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Kevin’s commentary: I am so, so glad that Pop is back home and recovering. Pneumonia and the flu make for a hell of a double whammy for anybody, let alone a 90-year-old. But all of my grandparents seem to be tough as nails so I am not surprised that he bounced back as well as he has. Meanwhile I feel like since the spot of Pope is now open, Pop should volunteer for the role. After all Pop and Pope are only one letter away; I feel like this constitutes sufficient qualification. Moreover he has never attempted to assist in genocide, OR — to the best of my knowledge — had sex with any little boys. Wins all around!