Behar Smears: Out of Millions of Catholics, Why Pick Pope from Hitler Youth?

Rich Noyes | February 13, 2013
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Talking about the just-announced retirement of Pope Benedict on her "Say Anything" program on Current-TV (now owned by al-Jazeera), host Joy Behar smarmily suggested that even though young Joseph Ratzinger was an unwilling participant in the Hitler Youth program, it was still somehow a disqualification from serving decades later as Pope.

"Of the 50 million Catholics in the world, they find one who is in the Hitler Youth. I never understood that," Behar proposed. After Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman pointed out that Ratzinger was coerced into joining and said it was "not fair" to use that to judge the Pope's "quite distinguished career," Behar kept up her line:

"I'm not putting him down. I agree with that -- there were plenty of kids who had to go into the Hitler Youth, or else probably go to jail. But of all the people, all the people they could have found, they found one that was in the Hitler Youth. Why? There are millions and millions of Catholics -- plenty of cardinals could have filled the post. Why him? I'm just curious?"

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