Susan Saradon has gained a reputation for being outspoken, but may have taken it too far over the weekend when she referred to Pope Benedict XVI as a “Nazi” during an interview.
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, told TMZ, “Susan Sarandon’s quip about Pope Benedict XVI being a ‘Nazi’ bespeaks unparalleled ignorance. What Sarandon said is positively obscene.”
The Oscar winner, while making an appearance at the Hamptons Film Festival, discussed her 1995 movie ‘Dead Man Walking’ with Newsday.
While chatting with fellow actor Bob Balaban, who was conducting the interview, she mentioned that she sent a copy of the anti-death penalty book, from which the film was adapted, to the Pope. She clarified, “The last one, not this Nazi one we have now.”
Balaban tried to defuse the derogatory comment but she repeated it for emphasis.
What the actress was referencing was the allegation that the German religious leader was a member of the Hitler Youth Nazi group as a teen.
The Catholic League President acknowledged this fact, but explained, “Joseph Ratzinger was conscripted into the Nazi Youth the way every other 14-year-old German boy was at the time. Unlike most others, he actually deserted the Hitler Youth. Which is precisely why Jews today regard him as a friend, not as an enemy.”
Sarandon has also dabbled in the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, reportedly making infrequent appearances of short duration in order to ‘educate’ herself on the issue.
Photos: WENN