Vatican Demands Holocaust Denier Publicly Recant

New York Times ^ | February 4, 2009 | RACHEL DONADIO

[DeepThought42]

Responding to global outrage, especially in Pope Benedict XVI’s native Germany, the Vatican for the first time on Wednesday called on a recently rehabilitated bishop to take back his statements denying the Holocaust.

Late last month, the pope revoked the excommunication of four schismatic bishops, including British-born Richard Williamson, who in an interview broadcast last month denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Vatican Secretariat of State said that Bishop Williamson “must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his positions on the Shoah,” or Holocaust, which it said were “unknown to the Holy Father at the time he revoked the excommunication.”

The unsigned statement seemed a clear indication that the Vatican was facing an internal and external political crisis.

[wombtotomb]

UG. Holy Father, stay the course. Do not let these anti catholics sway you. You are the leader of the Catholic Church, the Barq of Peter. Not the Jews, Not the Muslims, Not the secularists. Lead your Church. Stand your ground. Please......

[muir_redwoods]

good

[ex-snook]

Let's see now. It's more required to believe that six million died in the Nazi holocaust than it is to believe in Papal dogma infallibility??

[untenured]

I haven't been following this controversy too closely, but I don't really understand the fuss. As I understand it, the bishop is to have his excommunication annulled, but he is not to be a bishop again, is he? It's not like he'll have any position of responsibility in the church as a Holocaust denier. And excommunication is generally a matter of expressing seriously incorrect theological views, as opposed to committing very serious sins. And the ex-bishop has apparently satisfied the Vatican that all the purely theological controversies have been resolved, leaving it to God to judge the bishop's admittedly monstrous or bizarre views on the Holocaust. Do I have this about right? I am not Catholic, as may be evident, and anyone familiar with Catholic doctrine, whether Catholic or not, who can tell me why the pope's actions are problematic would be helping me a lot.

Unless this is all just a tribalistic squabble, where members of some groups are angry that members of other groups are attacking their group. Then I understand it all too well, because such things are so common these days.

[utahson]

Millions of Jews were slaughtered in gas chambers by the Nazi's and Hitler. To deny that as a man of God, you are being dishonest. To be dishonest about this massacre of men, women and children weakens the trust between this man and his flock and the church. If he would be dishonest about this, what else would he lie about? The church is absolutely right to demand a retraction. As a Catholic, I am disgusted how the church and the Pope have handled this thus far. If the Pope fails to lead in this time of crisis, he should be removed.

[Patriotic1]

I think once he was made a Bishop, he remained a Bishop. It was that he was made a bishop by an ArchBishop without permission. In fact, the Pope had explicitly forbidden the Archbishop to do this.

[Lorica]

The excommunications date back to I think 1983. The Pope has longed for a regularization of the SSPX, put things in motion with his freeing of the Latin Mass, and had moved on to the next step of unification by lifting the excommunications.

A Swedish interview with Bishop Williamson, done in Sept., was held and then released at the same time as the Pope's action.

It is being alleged, and I find it quite easy to believe, that this was done on purpose to sabotage Pope Benedict.

The exommunications were related to doctrine and obedience, had nothing to do with the statements by Williamson, who should have kept his mouth shut and has been since ordered to do just that on issues pertaining to politics and history.

[Lorica]

As a Catholic, I am disgusted how the church and the Pope have handled this thus far. If the Pope fails to lead in this time of crisis, he should be removed.

As a Catholic, I am disugusted by your comment.

[Philo-Junius]

Careful where you swing that “dishonesty” stick “utahson.” The eye you beam may be your own...

[untenured]

So if in the eyes of the church Mr. Williamson is not and never was a bishop, and if he apparently is satisfied with that resolution of the matter, the whole controversy is whether the pope can decide that a Holocaust denier is or is not merely a member of the Church?

[Lorica]

He is a bishop.

[utahson]

So by denying the the slaughter of 6 million Jews he is not being dishonest?

[untenured]

So if Archbishop Lefebvre made Mr. Williamson a bishop, even though it was against the instructions of the then-pope, he was in fact according to Catholic doctrine a bishop after that point, and is still now, now that his excommunication has been rescinded?

[utahson]

So in your thinking it is okay to keep those that are dishonest within the Church and are willing to lie about well documented history?

[sobieski]

No; in the eyes of the Church Bp Williamson is in fact a Bishop, though his consecration was illegal. This act leaves him suspended, not rehabilitated.

The whole controversy is that people who know better are playing the ‘holocaust’ card pretty heavily in their never ending war against the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope does not have the right to excommunicate anyone based on that person’s view of historical events. It is not a tenet of the faith.

[sobieski]

One’s belief in a historical event is not required as part of the Catholic faith.

[Jeff Chandler]

So in your thinking it is okay to keep those that are dishonest within the Church and are willing to lie about well documented history?

I do not think you understand the rules of excommunication. I suggest that you spend some time getting up to speed on the subject.

[Lorica]

So in your thinking the Pope has failed to lead?

And do you align yourself with the extremist liberal bishops who are calling for him to step down?

[sobieski]

Are you really a Catholic? Because you don’t seem to know what has happened. The excommunication was lifted; this was also done for Orthodox bishops. That is a first step to start a dialogue which may or not end in the SSPX or the Orthodox returning home.

You must know that the Pope and the SSPX both repeated their statements condemning anti -semitism in all forms. Further, the SSPX has muzzled Williamson.

Here’s the facts: the excommunications are lifted, but the individuals remain suspended from their faculties under Roman Catholic law. To have suspension lifted will require much negotiation. Their organization, the SSPX is irregular under canon law.

So what, exactly, is there to be ashamed of?

But as a Catholic you already knew all this, no?