¿Hermano de Bush y Ratzinger fundadores de una ONG en Suiza?

Más del pasado de Joseph Ratzinger sale a la luz. Newsday reporta que el controversial hermano menor del presidente de Estados Unidos, Niel Bush, y el entonces cardenal Ratzinger fueron algunos de los fundadores de una fundación ecuménica en Suiza en 1999, un año antes de la "elección" de George W. Bush.

"WASHINGTON -- Neil Bush, the president's controversial younger brother, six years ago joined the cardinal who this week became Pope Benedict XVI as a founding board member of a little known Swiss ecumenical foundation.

The charter members of the board were all well-known international religious figures, except for Bush and his close friend and business partner, Jamal Daniel, whose family has extensive holdings in the United States and Switzerland, public records show.

The Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1999 to promote ecumenical understanding and publish original religious texts, said a foundation official.

Besides then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, founding board members included Rene-Samuel Sirat, the former chief rabbi of France; Jordan's Prince Hassan, a Muslim dedicated to religious dialogue; the late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, another prominent Muslim; Olivier Fatio, director of the Institute of the History of the Reformation; and foundation president Metropolitan Damaskinos, a Greek Orthodox leader.

Gary Vachicouras, a theologian and foundation official in Geneva, would not explain in a telephone interview yesterday why Bush, who has no clear public connection to religious causes, was on the first board.

"He was interested at that particular time," said Vachicouras of Bush. But like some other initial board members, Bush is no longer involved, Vachicouras said. Ratzinger also left a few years ago and was replaced by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who is responsible for ecumenical relations for the Vatican, said Vachicouras...."

La misteriosa fundación suiza no tiene website, y poco sale sobre ella en Google.

El artículo termina con esta peculiar frase: "... Fatio, who left the board three years ago, said the foundation "never had any money." Vachicouras declined to discuss finances. He said, "We keep a low profile because that makes it easier to get work done."

Mmmmm, ni que lo digan! ¿Un hijo de un ex presidente de EU y hermano de otro con un cardenal super poderoso fundando una ONG cuasi secreta en Suiza? Lo mínimo que se puede decir: algo suena extraño... Vale la pena recordar aquí que muchas ONGs han sido usadas como caretas o parapetos de otros intereses: empresariales, gubernamentales y hasta criminales... y vale la pena recordar que Suiza tiene secreto bancario, y mucho del oro robado por los nazis sigue escondido ahí.

PD. Mañana no se pierdan el show de la Coronación de Benedicto XVI en la televisión. Prometen haber novedades....