Those 'henchmen' of whom you speak saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Italian Jews survived in much greater numbers than their brothers and sisters in Eastern Europe. The Italian Army wasn't that efficient in rounding them up, so it was fairly easy to hide them at first. When the Germans arrived, it became a much more dangerous feat, but was still done by priests, nuns, and regular Catholics all over Italy. One of the Pope's men ran one of the refugee networks right out of the Vatican. For a look at some fictionalized accounts of actual events, check out the movies The Scarlet and the Black and The Assisi Underground. Pius XII spoke out forcefully against Hitler, to the point that the Swiss Guard, even while wearing their colorful Renaissance era outfits, were carrying guns to defend Vatican City and protect the Pontiff.
Pope Benedict's question was not asked because he had no clue about the answer. He was putting forth a question for the listeners to ponder. God allowed it to happen because He made us with Free Will. Some will use that free will, live their lives in accordance with God's teachings and everything will be nice and rosy. Some, however, will use that free will, reject the teachings of God, and set themselves up as gods. This is what Hitler did with his Third Reich. He considered Germany a new 'Roman Empire' and himself the new emperor. The Pope was using the question to point out the danger when we turn from God's direction; we can begin to justify almost any behavior which we might choose.
I guess the fact that I listened and pondered for about 2 seconds to his comments has no credence with you.
No prob,
I am used to this sort of thing!
I get ignored all of the time.