RATZINGER'S WHITEWASH

Rabbi Michael Lerner, a leading Jewish scholar, says selection of Cardinal Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II is something of a "disaster" on the mutual supposed goals of peace and justice.

We can't help noticing that under Cardinal Ratzinger's tutelage, the church began moves to elevate the infamous Pope Pius XII to the status of saint. Instead of repenting for the failure of the church to unequivocally tell all Catholics that they not receive communion if they collaborated or cooperated in any way with Nazi rule, or failed to hide and protect Jews who were marked for extermination, Ratzinger has sought to whitewash this disgraceful moment in church history. Many Jews are outraged at a church that denies communion to those who have remarried or those who oppose making abortion illegal but did not similarly deny communion to those who participate in crimes against humanity.

In fact, Cardinal Ratzinger publicly praised the fascist movement in the church known as Opus Dei and supported canonization of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, an open fascist who served in the government of Spain's dictator Franco, and who publicly praised Hitler.

It seems the pope's membership in Hitler's youth movement certainly made its mark on the pontiff-to-be.