Pope tells youths Nazi brutality helped him decide to become a priest

Published: 2006-04-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a meeting with young people, Pope Benedict XVI said he decided to become a priest after witnessing the brutality of the Nazi regime in his native Germany. While his vocation came naturally to him, the pope said he had to seriously ask himself about priestly celibacy and had doubts about whether he could be a simple pastor to simple people. The pope's reflections, the most personal since his election to the papacy a year ago, came during a question-and-answer session April 6 with some 40,000 Rome youths in St. Peter's Square. The annual pre-Easter event included songs, dance, prayers and testimonials. This year it also featured short film clips of Pope John Paul II, who initiated the youth meetings many years ago. Pope Benedict, seated in a chair in the late-afternoon sun, fielded questions from young people on topics like science and faith, sexuality and marriage and the development of his own vocation.

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