Pope says evolution can't be proven

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

He wasn't member of the Nazi party. Most soldiers weren't. Most people in WW2 Germany weren't either. He was in the German army which was not part of the Waffen SS.

[almaty 19]

Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth — membership being legally required after December 1939[3] — but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps. Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year.

[Reynaldo 0]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

He wasn't member of the Nazi party. Most soldiers weren't. Most people in WW2 Germany weren't either. He was in the German army which was not part of the Waffen SS.

He was part of the Hitler Youth...

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

He wasn't member of the Nazi party. Most soldiers weren't. Most people in WW2 Germany weren't either. He was in the German army which was not part of the Waffen SS.

He was part of the Hitler Youth...

It's does not mean he's a member of the Nazi party.

Edited April 12, 2007 by LuckyStrike

[Reynaldo 0]

Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth — membership being legally required after December 1939[3] — but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps. Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year.

His predecessor hid Jews in his church... Deserting the German Army is nothing compared to that...

It's does not mean he's a member of the Nazi party.

No... It is just a branch of it...

[Ban Hammer 13,335]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

He wasn't member of the Nazi party. Most soldiers weren't. Most people in WW2 Germany weren't either. He was in the German army which was not part of the Waffen SS.

He was part of the Hitler Youth...

also a mandatory enrollment for germany's youth during that time. same for being in the communist party in russia prior to 1989.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

You are probably forced to join the Hitler Youth and as a minor not fully responsible for your actions.

I blame my parents for making me join the cub scouts. I'm still scarred.

[Ban Hammer 13,335]

You are probably forced to join the Hitler Youth and as a minor not fully responsible for your actions.

I blame my parents for making me join the cub scouts. I'm still scarred.

By December 1936, HJ membership stood at just over five million. That same month, HJ membership became mandatory, under the Gesetz über die Hitlerjugend law. This legal obligation was re-affirmed in 1939 with the Jugenddienstpflicht and HJ membership was required even when it was opposed by the member's parents. From then on, most of Germany's teenagers belonged to the HJ. By 1940, it had eight million members. Later war figures are difficult to calculate, since massive conscription efforts and a general call-up of boys as young as ten years old meant that virtually every young male in Germany was, in some way, connected to the HJ.

from wikipedia.

[Alex+R 0]

Guys, chill, it was just a joke. But uh, I think being part of an organization that requires killing in the name of the Nazi party=Nazi affiliation... I always thought if I were going to choose the next pope, I would try to stay away from anyone who might have been involved in Nazi Germany or any other state with genocide on its hands. I.e., no old German guys, yknow? There were so many other options...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

He wasn't member of the Nazi party. Most soldiers weren't. Most people in WW2 Germany weren't either. He was in the German army which was not part of the Waffen SS.

He was part of the Hitler Youth...

also a mandatory enrollment for germany's youth during that time. same for being in the communist party in russia prior to 1989.

That's my understanding from my German friends. Hard to make any concrete claims about those affiliations without running the risk of slandering a lot of elderly Germans.

[Caladan 19]

The Nazi affiliation is about as meaningful as belonging to the Boy Scouts.

On the article, the media need to learn how to read. The Pope's position on evolution is about the same as it's always been: it's a nice theory, it explains a lot about the physical makeup of the universe, but that scientists should not draw conclusions about the existence of God or the spiritual importance of human beings from their studies about physical things. In other words, the tools science uses to understand nature cannot tell us anything about claims about the supernatural.

The previous Pope's position was the same: evolution is fine, but it can't explain God's role in creation (one way or the other), and it cannot "ground the dignity of the human person."

There's a lot that could be disagreed with there, but this is a far cry from trying to do creationist pseudo-science. That's a crazy American evangelical phenomenon.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Maybe he should have been shaved, starved, and gassed.

[Robor007 0]

This is why Jesus originally appointed a rabbit Pope.

That episode was classic. So was the 24 parody.

(talking about Southpark for those who don't watch)

[homesick_american 1]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

LOL...I doubt it. He was forced; he didn't join up willingly.

Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth — membership being legally required after December 1939[3] — but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps. Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI

Guys, chill, it was just a joke. But uh, I think being part of an organization that requires killing in the name of the Nazi party=Nazi affiliation... I always thought if I were going to choose the next pope, I would try to stay away from anyone who might have been involved in Nazi Germany or any other state with genocide on its hands. I.e., no old German guys, yknow? There were so many other options...

You can't hold a 14 year-old boy accountable for the actions of the Nazi Party because he was forced to join the Nazi version of the Boy Scouts.

[Otto 83]

OT, but I was thinking the other day, shouldn't the Pope be denied entrance to the US? Due to past Nazi Party affiliations?

Uhm... how to word this?? ... NO!