When I visited a permanent diaconate formation weekend this past weekend, the formation director reminded all of the deacon aspirants/candidates that it will not be easy being an ordained representative of the Church, especially given the recent priest abuse scandals. Little did I know that I would be tested on this so soon.
I provided keyboard accomaniment at two Masses at our parish on Sunday. After the 10:30 am Mass, I got into a discussion of Church issues with one of the choir members. He made somewhat of a passing remark about the "Nazi Pope". I had to gently stop him before he went on and remind him that being German is not the same as espousing Nazi beliefs. I have had several unfortunate experiences where people have suggested that, as a person of German heritage, I must have some affinity for Nazism. Has Pope Benedict made some mistakes and committed sins? Of course - he is human. However, he and his family, like me and my family, continue to have nothing but disdain for Nazism. Like Pope Benedict's father, my grandfather physically moved his family to get away from the growing influence of Nazism in Germany in the 20s and 30s.
While I have come to expect to read about Pope Benedict being a Nazi in many media outlets, I would prefer to not come to the point where I expect to hear it from people that just participated in the Mass.
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