The Totalitarianism of the Mob

In a bit of a shift from my SWA posts, this article discussed the formation of Pope Benedict's system of beliefs. From a childhood under Nazism where he found Catholicism the only hope, he reacted adversely to the (student) revolutions and protests that rocked the world in 1968, especially at Tübigen University, where he was teaching (my school actually has a program there).

In the mob mentality and the blunt, aggressive tactics of the student body, he saw echoes of the Third Reich, and he was shaken. From a generally liberal background, his well-versed theological knowledge was transformed into a darker, sinister colouring afraid of the extended path of these movements. He reverted to a sort of conservatism in which he seems to uphold especially the supreme authority of Rome and the traditions of Church intellectual writings. In that sense, things sound good and dandy, and I find some elements of society to be "progressive" to the point of promoting a short-sighted, selfish point of view as well...but I feel Ratzinger finds himself too much in fear of change and a realisation of places where the Church has been in error--it does happen! Anyway, we will see. Good article.

The New York Times > International > International Special > Turbulence on Campus in 60's Hardened Views of Future Pope: "He had been recruited by none other than the liberal Swiss theologian Hans K�ng, the very man who became, and remains, one of his chief political and theological rivals. The experience of the student revolt seemed to confirm every suspicion that Father Ratzinger already nurtured about liberalizing tendencies and the hidden germ of totalitarianism lurking within revolutionary movements. 'Marxist revolution kindled the whole university with its fervor, shaking it to its very foundations,' he wrote of the atmosphere at the university, which, like many others in Germany at the time, was rocked by a student rebellion against authority."