Pope Talks About Life Under Nazis

Benedict XVI calls it a 'dark time'
Posted May 29, 2011 5:14 AM CDT
Pope Benedict: Nazi Era a 'Dark Time'
Pope Benedict XVI recites the rosary prayer, at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome Thursday, May 26, 2011.   (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

German-born Pope Benedict XVI rarely talks about when he was conscripted into the Hitler Youth as a teen. But yesterday, in an audience with a German Catholic group, Benedict made a rare mention of life under the Nazis, calling it a "dark time," reports the AP. "It looked like the continent was in the hands of this power, which put the future of Christianity in doubt," said the pope. The 84-year-old Benedict was forced to join the Hitler Youth in 1941, a time "already marked by war," said the pope, when the Nazis "had already subjugated" much of Europe.

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