Just a day after delivering a speech at Israel’s Holocaust Memorial (known as Yad Vashem) to a rather unimpressed crowd, the Vatican made a statement denying the Pope’s enrollment in the Hitler Youth, despite the fact Ratzinger had already admitted he had been a member of the Flakhelfer, the anti-aircraft auxiliary corps of the Hitler Youth.

The logic behind this obviously false statement is damage control after the Pope’s speech failed to make any impression on those in attendance, who felt the pontiff’s words were lukewarm, strategic, and generally uninspired. Many felt this may have been due to secret sympathies as a result of his previous Nazi connections. Although I won’t speculate as to the Pope’s true feelings, it does seem pretty fishy that he was so careful when choosing his words. It’s no secret a great deal of his flock are anti-Semitic, so it’s more than likely Benedict avoided admitting any serious culpability on the part of the Church.

Rather than issue a denial of something everyone knows to be true, the Vatican would be better off telling the truth rather than insultingly lie to everyone’s face. Of course, that would require honesty and integrity from the Church, and if you remember, this is the same institution that protected child molesters. Not exactly the best record for integrity, don’t you think?