It was just the second day of his Holy Land Tour 2009, but unsurprisingly, the presence of Pope Benedict XVI in Israel stirred up more static on Tuesday — this time over his personal wartime history.

BBC:

A row has flared over Pope Benedict XVI’s membership as a teenager of the Hitler Youth, as he paid a historic visit to Jerusalem’s holy sites.

A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff had “never, never, never” belonged — contradicting the Pope’s own admission.

The comments came as he visited the Dome of the Rock — the first pontiff to do so — and then the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest places.

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