One former Nazi gets screwed....another gets to be Pope....

[IowaGuy]

Check out this story from the Des Moines area...

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050426/OPINION01/504260394
I'm no defender of Nazis, however, enough is enough....in the
interests of human decency, justice and plain common sense
there comes a time where you just got to let things go and
give up on the vengeance thing....


<snip>
As a Waffen SS guard, Hansl kept prisoners from escaping. Like
the pope, he never harmed anyone. He says his request for a
transfer to the front was originally declined, though he was
sent there later, shot in the face and captured in uniform.

Hansl was cleared of any war crimes by France and the United
States. He never hid his SS record from immigration officials,
who said he was legal and let him into the country.

For 45 years Hansl assumed he was legal. Now he's hearing
different. Though nobody is saying he committed any
atrocities, the court decided that the threat was constantly
there and that Hansl had "personally assisted in the
persecution" of prisoners.

<snip>

[Cuban_Liberal]

1. The Pope was NOT 'a former Nazi'!

:wtf:

[IowaGuy]

4. I will accept your technical premise...

that the Pope was not a Nazi, I stand corrected...but the distinction between that and being a member of the Hitler youth is slim at best.

In any case, perhaps, the point of my post was possibly misunderstood. It was not to throw stones at the Pope. I personally think he should get a bye on what happened at that point in his life, there is plenty to talk about with his later actions, both pro and con.

My point was, rather to show the inequity of how different people can be judged and treated differently, even thought their actions were basically similar, and yet the outcomes of peoples judgements and how it affects their lives can be radically different.

Please read the article and research it further if you wish and let me know if you think the guy has gotten a fair shake.

[sam sarrha]

2. Pope Ratz...deserted his post after 2 weeks and hid out he rest of the war

[Kerrytravelers]

3. Yep. Not a happy Catholic here. So many other choices to make.

But it is clear the Vatican chose to make a statement to the world instead.

This pope's first few actions: condem Spain and Harry Potter>

Great start.

[Lone Pawn]

5. What a great show of faith

in the American military's ability to protect his ass from the Russians, now that Hitler was dead, Berlin was taken, and reports of Russian POW slaughter and torture were circulating.