'Why, Lord, did You remain silent?

'Why, Lord, did You remain silent?These words were uttered by Pope Benedict when he visited the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp in Poland on Sunday 28 May 2006. I cannot recall any other Priest, let alone Pope, ask this question of the Almighty for any catastrophe that happened in this world. And as he prayed before the camp's execution wall with his hands clasped tightly together, a rainbow appeared behind him. He was not aware of it but some survivors of Auschwitz hailed it as a sign from God, that He was indeed present at this poignant event.
How do we come to terms with a human genocide like this? It must have weighed terribly on the Pope's conscience as he was part of Hitler's Nazi Youth Movement. I remember that the previous Pope, John Paul II, had asked for forgiveness for the Church's silence during the persecution of the Jews during WW II. He had started the ball rolling it what seems to be a more open minded Vatican. One that is ready to face the many mistakes that the Catholic Church has made over the centuries. Pope Benedict has taken it one step further by this visit to Auschwitz, being a German.