Pope to tell young people of Hitler Youth

VATICAN CITY, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI plans to use his own experience in the Hitler Youth in his message to young people at the next World Youth Day, the Vatican said Friday.

Officials released a partial text of the message the pope has written for the gathering, scheduled for Aug. 16-21 in Madrid, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. He plans to tell young people they must rely on faith and the values found in the Gospels, that job-hunting and economic security are "great and pressing problems" but not the most important issues in life.

Benedict, born in Germany as Josef Ratzinger, was forced to join the Hitler Youth when he turned 14 in 1941. His father was a devout Catholic who opposed the Nazi Party, and the pope has said he dodged meetings of the youth organization.

"We were closed in by a dominant power, we wanted to get out and enjoy the fullness of the possibilities of being human," he plans to tell the World Youth Day of that part of his life.