Pope Benedict XVI has done nothing wrong.

[Tsuwano]

They are joined only because those who are using this to promote their agenda were looking for something, anything that they could use as a club against the SSPX and apparently the Holy Father himself.

The hatred progressives have against the SSPX is intense, unlike much that I have ever seen before except the hatred these same people feel for the Traditional Mass and traditional ideas in general. Since the Holy Father has made steps, small though they may be to loosen the restrictions on the Traditional mass and has incorporated some elements of it into his Masses these people are horrified.

Thus when this opportunity dropped into their lap they saw an immediate advantage. We can kill two birds with one stone. We can make the SSPX, and by extension all Traditional minded Catholics look bad, heck we can make them look like Nazis and, we can take down a Pope who is seemingly steering the Church towards a more orthodox position. All we have to do is keep up the pressure and not let this thing die. Keep the pot boiling so to speak.

Look at who is leading the outcry in this situation. Liberal Bishops, some of them German, many not, the Chancelor of Germany, a Lutheran, so I doubt she has much love for the Holy Father anyway, the JDL, various social action groups worldwide, ACTION, various religious orders, mostly female and other assorted folk, most of the liberal progressive variety.

The plain truth is most people couldn’t care less about this thing. It really is a complete non issue.

I think your accusations against “progressives” (and I’m still not sure who they may be) are rather loose, and if it is true that there is hatred directed toward the SSPX and all they stand for by this group, it is also true that there is a mutual hatred directed toward “progressives,” Liberals," and other vague entities by those who tend to call themselves “Traditional.” Nevertheless, I think it’s fair to keep in mind that if the farmer steps into a pile of cow manure, it’s reasonable to expect his boots to smell like cow manure. The Pope has stepped into a problem and it is reasonable to expect the controversies surrounding that problem will swirl around him. Actually, I think the SSPX has taken significant steps to answer the charges of anti-semitism against them by silencing Bishop Williamson, apologizing for the controversy that one of their members created, and stating that the SSPX is not in agreement with those statements that Williamson has made. If Bishop Williamson has proven himself a clown, Bishop Fellay has done the opposite and has so far positioned himself as man who can be trusted to engage in serious discussions about the issues that continue to separate the SSPX from the Church.
I also think it is a bit unfair to charge the Chancellor of Germany, the Jewish Defense League, and German Bishops (liberal or not) with attempting to make the Holy Father look bad and continuing to stir this stinking pot because they have no love for the Church. Again, they didn’t create the controversy, but they do, for obvious reasons, have a vested interest in seeing that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten or minimalized. Indeed, I think all Christians have an interest in seeing that the evils of persecution and the horrors that rise from it, are never forgotten. If any good comes from this controversy, I pray it will lead to greater understanding and fraternal love between Christians and Jews.

 

[CapIV]

I thought that I saw an interview in which Bishop Williamson, denied the holocaust of 6 million Jews being killed? Isn’t this a crime punishable by imprisonment?

It is a crime in Germany and a few other European countries. Not in America. And not in England where Williamson is from. Even if he was guilty of a crime, a crime in and of itself is not grounds for excommunication. The Holy See doesn’t go around excommunicating murderers. It doesn’t go around excommunicating revisionists.

Pope Benedict XVI is NOT guilty of being uninformed! Excommunication has very specific rules. Nothing else matters. What do his critics expect him to do, uphold an invalid excommunication just because Williamson’s revisionism upsets some people?

I don’t think Williamson ought to serve as a Bishop, but that is irrelevant. We are talking about excommunication here. I’m sure if one of you were invalidly excommunicated, you wouldn’t want the Church to leave it in place just because you were a revisionist. It is absurd to think otherwise.

Progressives, liberal Catholics and liberal clergy, and the JDL are exactly the problem! They did in fact create the controversy. Anyone who spends five minutes on wikipedia can study what excommunication is and what it has to do with. The aforementioned list have been out to get Benedict for what they call his “backward” thinking. This was an excuse for them to go nuts. It is working for them. Many people I talk to think that Williamson was excommunicated for being a revisionist and Benedict “welcomed and supported him” by lifting the excommunication. This is the kind of misleading absurdity that is exactly the fault of the media, the Jewish heads, and progressives.

 

[pnewton]

I am fed up with all the garbage that has gone on and the attacks on our Catholic faith, whether through ignorance or deliberation.

Germany especially has produced some really bad comments, ironic since this is the country that allowed the Holocaust. Leaders there have tried to tell the Pope what to do and called for his resignation. This shows that they are totally ignorant on the Catholic Church. I guess the only way a German knows how to disagree is to try and boss someone around. The Vatican City better be careful or they might end up invaded. Historically, it is Germany’s response to disagreement.

 

[mark_a]

He’s the friggin’ Holy Father. Not the ‘Dude Who Waves Around a Bit but Doesn’t Have any Real Authority’.

I hope you are too young to remember the original meaning of the word fr******, but its no way to address the pope, or anyone else for that matter.

 

[Protestant101]

I am fed up with all the garbage that has gone on and the attacks on our Catholic faith, whether through ignorance or deliberation.

Germany especially has produced some really bad comments, ironic since this is the country that allowed the Holocaust. Leaders there have tried to tell the Pope what to do and called for his resignation. This shows that they are totally ignorant on the Catholic Church. I guess the only way a German knows how to disagree is to try and boss someone around. The Vatican City better be careful or they might end up invaded. Historically, it is Germany’s response to disagreement.

You shouldn’t talk about Germans like this. Many people, from many countries have denied the holocaust.

Can anyone tell me what “SSPX” means please? I have seen these initials in this thread, and am not sure what they mean

 

[Lisa44]

And of course, the Jewish persecution complex is just rearing its ugly head, .

CapIV;4771315:

I believe that it is Israeli heads
.

II am sick of these unfounded criticisms from Jewish leaders. I am sick of Israel…

Pope Benedict has called for ‘bishop’ Williamson to recant.
In my opinion this was the right thing to do.
No one has hurt the Traditional movement but the so-called traditionalist himself. What was he thinking? Was he thinking?

What a retarded thing to say publically, what an embarassment to his church to attract such negative publicity. And what an embarassment for Rome. What an insult to the Pope to make such outrageous statements publically after the Pope has extended the olive branch.

If anyone looks like a total idiot it is not the Jews, nor the liberal Catholics, nor the Pope, nor anyone BUT ‘bishop’ Williamson. What a joker that guy is.

We can’t have people like that representing the traditional Catholic Church. Not now, not ever. The Pope was completely right to distance his Church from that man and not extended another olive branch until that man apologizes for distorting historical truth in order to make a case for his anti-semitism.

Anti-semitism is racism.

Without Judaism there would be no Christianity. God gave men free-will. If they don’t think Jesus is the Messiah then that is their choice isn’t it? I’m sure you have a family member or two who is not a Christian, do you run around slandering them at every chance you get?

And as for Israel. They are surrounded by Muslims on all sides who want their annihilation. Of course they’re a little sensitive. Wouldn’t you be?

How would you feel if a Bishop said - No Christians were ever killed by Muslims. You would be upset at the historical inaccuracy of that statement wouldn’t you?

Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like for yourself.

 

[porthos11]

CradleCath;4773275:

Pope Benedict has called for ‘bishop’ Williamson to recant.
In my opinion this was the right thing to do.
No one has hurt the Traditional movement but the so-called traditionalist himself. What was he thinking? Was he thinking?

What a retarded thing to say publically, what an embarassment to his church to attract such negative publicity. And what an embarassment for Rome. What an insult to the Pope to make such outrageous statements publically after the Pope has extended the olive branch.

If anyone looks like a total idiot it is not the Jews, nor the liberal Catholics, nor the Pope, nor anyone BUT ‘bishop’ Williamson. What a joker that guy is.

We can’t have people like that representing the traditional Catholic Church. Not now, not ever. The Pope was completely right to distance his Church from that man and not extended another olive branch until that man apologizes for distorting historical truth in order to make a case for his anti-semitism.

Anti-semitism is racism.

Without Judaism there would be no Christianity. God gave men free-will. If they don’t think Jesus is the Messiah then that is their choice isn’t it? I’m sure you have a family member or two who is not a Christian, do you run around slandering them at every chance you get?

And as for Israel. They are surrounded by Muslims on all sides who want their annihilation. Of course they’re a little sensitive. Wouldn’t you be?

How would you feel if a Bishop said - No Christians were ever killed by Muslims. You would be upset at the historical inaccuracy of that statement wouldn’t you?

Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like for yourself.

I support the state of Israel, but the Jews (Israeli or otherwise) HAVE a persecution complex. They see anti-Semitism in just about everything.

 

[mattkubes]

How would you feel if a Bishop said - No Christians were ever killed by Muslims. You would be upset at the historical inaccuracy of that statement wouldn’t you?

Without meaning to detract from the bulk of your post, this simply isn’t a fair comparison. The Bishop thinks the number is somewhere closer to two or three hundred thousand…a far cry from denying that the whole thing took place. Agreed, it’s silly to ignore the historical record, but by all accounts, he’s still admitting that a massive genocide took place. The interview sounds a lot less extreme than many people are making it out to be, despite the fact that he’s wrong on this one.

 

[CradleCath]

I too support the pope, people who already have a bias against him will use any opportunity to attack him

Agreed. Those on these forums who have denied the fact that many in the hierarchy, especially here in America, are not going to obey the Pope…on ordination of gays, on making the Latin Mass widely available, on his desire to tighten up the regulations re Catholic annulments, on the Churches stand against artificial contraception & abortion., on the TLM Mass, etc., etc…are going to have to realize & admit that the Church in the US. **is led, in part, by men who would be THRILLED to see Pope Benedict’s Papacy & efforts in favor of a more orthodox (small o) Church sabotoged. **
They will join in any bandwagon that might harm him &/or detour his efforts to bring the Church back to Catholicism. I was hoping that this wouldn’t happen, but pretty much expected it to.