Vatican: Holocaust Denier Must Recant

Says Pope Didn't Know About Ultraconservative Bishop's Views When He Agreed To Lift His Excommunication

(AP)  The Vatican on Wednesday demanded that a prelate who denied the Holocaust recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church.

It also said Pope Benedict XVI had not known about Bishop Richard Williamson's views when he agreed to lift his excommunication and that of three other ultraconservative bishops Jan. 21.

The Vatican's Secretariat of State issued the statement a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the pope to make a clearer rejection of Holocaust denials, saying there had not been adequate clarification from the church.

The Holy See on Jan. 24 announced the rehabilitation of four bishops excommunicated in 1988 after being consecrated without papal consent.

Just days before, Williamson had been shown on Swedish state television saying historical evidence "is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed" during World War II.

Williamson has since apologized to the German-born pope for having stirred controversy, but he did not repudiate his comments, in which he also said only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II and none were gassed.

Though the Vatican said it did not share Williamson's views, Jewish groups voiced outrage at his rehabilitation and demanded the prelate recant.

Williamson and the three other bishops were consecrated by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who in 1969 founded the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X opposed to the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including its outreach to Jews.

The Vatican said Wednesday that, while Williamson's excommunication had been lifted, he still had no canonical function in the church because he was consecrated illegitimately.

"Bishop Williamson, in order to be admitted to episcopal functions within the church, will have to take his distance, in an absolutely unequivocal and public fashion, from his position on the Shoah, which the Holy Father was not aware of when the excommunication was lifted," the statement said. The Shoah is the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.

Jewish groups welcomed the Vatican statement, saying it satisfied their key demand.

"This was the sign the Jewish world has been waiting for," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress.

Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, thanked Merkel for her "righteous comments" and said the process to heal the "deep wound that this crisis caused to the Catholic-Jewish dialogue" could now begin.

Williamson's interview on Swedish state TV was aired Jan. 21. The decree lifting his excommunication bore the same date, although it was not announced until three days later. The broadcaster said the timing was a coincidence, but Williamson has expressed his views about the Holocaust previously.

Wednesday's statement was a remarkable turnabout by the Vatican, which had considered the Williamson case "closed" after Benedict issued a lengthy denunciation of Holocaust deniers last week and the society itself distanced itself from Williamson's views.

On Jan. 28, the pope said he felt "full and indisputable solidarity" with Jews, and warned against any denial of the full horror of the Nazi genocide.

The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, cited those comments Tuesday in telling the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference Avvenire that, as far as he was concerned, "the question can be considered closed."

Yet the pressure continued, including from Roman Catholic leaders in Benedict's native Germany and Merkel's comments Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear if the Vatican's newest statement Wednesday satisfied Merkel.

"The chancellor has spoken and has nothing to add to her comments from yesterday," her spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters in Berlin.

In addition to its demand of Williamson, the Vatican also said society as a whole must fully recognize the teachings of Vatican II and of all popes who came during and after it in order to have a legitimate canonical function in the church.

There was no answer to several calls placed Wednesday to Williamson's home in La Reya, Argentina.

[andie52]

allmymarbles---Six million Jews were systematicly annihilated by the Nazi regime during World War 2, most of them in concentration camps.

In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed.

The European Jews were the primary victims of the Holocaust, but they were not the only group singled out for persecution by Hitlers Nazi regime.

Politial prisoners, that is individuals who openly opposed the Nazis and common criminals or Greens as they were often called were also killed in the Concentration camps.

There was no systematic extermination of these two groups and they were more often killed as a result of overwork or disease. Homosexuals or pinks are estimated to have had between 10 and 15 thousand killed.

Another persecuted group were the Jehovah Witnesses and estimates range between 2,500 and 5,000 were executed plus more than 200 Witnesses were tried and executed for refusing military service.

The largest non-jewish victims of the Holocaust were Romas or Gypsies of whom no less than 250,000 were exterminated. There were also about 300,000 Soviet prisoners of war killed in the camps.

[bradkt1]

On this particular issue, the fact that this Pope is German and was a former member of the Hitler Youth is of no small significance to the non-Caltholic world..especially to Jewish communities.

This pope hasn''t only offended Jews, however. He has offended Muslims as well with undiplomatic public statements that then had to be followed up with "clarifications" and meetings with representives of the world''s Islamic communities.

He has shown a willingness to inject himself into the internal politics of other countries to a degree not seem in a long time...including the U.S....which offends some non-Catholic Christians.

John Paul II...this pope isn''t. He seems to have a real blind spot in dealing with others who do not share his religious beliefs and that is unfortunate.

[fush2]

your right it wasnt just the jews..but hitler hated the jews the most and more of them died...but still it cant be said that he just killed jew....???

[allmymarbles]

The thing that irks me about the holocaust is that all you hear about is the Jews who died. What about the gypsies? What about the communists? What about the priests? I guess they don''t have a PR budget. I have to hand it to the Jews, they can milk anything to the last drop.

[soldat44]

The Vatican is saying this while winking.

Posted by endrepubs at 02:15 PM : Feb 04, 2009

You''d like that wouldn''t you?

The Holy Father can be caught off guard just like the "Great Obama'' when it comes to not knowing about the details(unpaid taxes, Holocaust denials....).

It happens.

BTW - The Pope was forced into the Hitler Youth at the very later stages of the war and did not report for duty at his gun position.

[endrepubs]

The Vatican is saying this while winking.

[fush2]

what kind of pope is this anyways....can someone please tell me whats so good about these popes...people treat them like their gods idk..someone please!!!!!!

[babooph]

Dejavu -Gallileo also had to recant-no ?