UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Jamie L Manson on Apr. 02, 2012 Grace on the Margins

This is the second part of Jamie Manson’s interview with theologian and writer Matthew Fox. Part I can be found here.

You begin your most recent book, The Pope’s War, by taking a look at the childhood of Pope Benedict XVI and his time in Hitler Youth. How do you think that experience might have impacted his view of the church?

In fascism, there is always an obsession to control and to make obedience the first priority. That’s why fascism was allowed to thrive in Nazi times. As I point out in the book, the wonderful priest and moral theologian Fr. Bernard Haring, who was also conscripted into the Nazi army, did not learn from his experience that obedience is a primary virtue. He saw the horrible price that Europe paid…