Preamble to the Pontiff's speech

When someone in clergy is seen in a lie, you instinctively protect him, but when he is no less the pontiff, you expect him to protect himself, to come clean, to explain, to apologise, to recant if necessary.

Pope Benedict’s pontification at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem in May 2009 prompts me to step into the shoes of his speechwriter and pen a Preamble to the Pontiff's speech : -

“Dear all, before I talk of the tragedy of the Shoah, let me tell you of one Joseph Ratzinger, a loyal member of Hitler’s Youth during World War II. Joseph and his ilk are versed in Mein kampf, the doctrine that preached and eventually propagated the dreaded Holocaust against your forefathers. Regretfully, he partook in its ideology and stands here in lament, humbled and in tears. He asks forgiveness, not least from the Almighty, but from all before him. Joseph Ratzinger is me –Pope Benedict XVI"

On the same platform Muhammad Ahmad Hussein the Grand Mufti of the Palestinians, rendered his piece without mentioning the role of his predecessor, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni who cavorted with Hitler and is said to have offered valuable advice to the ‘Final Solution’.

Stay tuned for the Preamble to the Mufti's speech