Vatican rebuffs Bishop Williamson’s Holocaust apology

[catharina]

From a Vatican spokesman:

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15229

Rome, Italy, Feb 27, 2009 / 01:59 pm (CNA).- On Friday, the Vatican’s spokesman discarded an apology from Bishop Richard Williamson over remarks he made diminishing the extent of the Holocaust.

Bishop Williamson, who has been at the center of a storm of controversy due to his comments, issued an apology yesterday.
Reacting to Williamson’s apology, the Vatican’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, faulted the bishop for issuing his statement in the form of an open letter. “This is not a letter directed to the Holy Father or to the Pontifical Ecclesia Dei Commission,” Fr. Federico critiqued.

In his Thursday statement, Bishop Williamson said, “I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them.”

He also added that during his interview on Swedish television that he only gave the “opinion …] of a non-historian,” a perspective "formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since.
“To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize,” he wrote.

However, Fr. Lombardi stated on Friday that Williamson’s statement fell short of the retraction that the Vatican has asked for.

“The bishop’s statement doesn’t seem to respect the conditions established in the note from the Secretary of State, dated February 4, 2009, which stated that he must also distance himself in an absolute, unequivocal and public manner from his positions regarding the Shoah,” Fr. Lombardi said.

 

[Middleman]

They are definitely sending the message to this Bishop that he will be obedient to the Holy Father in all things, which is as it should be. His apology was obviously a vaguely well worded statement that didn’t fully retract his statement. The Holy Father and his advisors saw right through that.

 

[selah603]

Whenever I hear that a public figure says “I am sorry” after being “outed” for a wrong, whether it is a celebrity, a sports star or a renagade bishop, I have all sorts of red flags that go up!
(Is saying I’m sorry enough?).

As Catholics we emphasize reconciliation which means more than saying I am sorry but also an act of penance. In this bishop’s case, he has been called to recant his previous statements/views.
He has not done so yet… so, is it enough?

What do you think?

 

[JReducation]

Unfortunately, the good Bishop’s statement has created a great deal of stress and work for the Church around the world, offended Catholics and non Catholics alike, offended the Jewish people, represented a position that the Catholic Church finds untenable, made him and other bishops look like historical ignorants, and was condescending toward those who have spent years studying the Shoah. In the end, it was an unnecessary statement.

While I will not judge his motives, nor his heart on the matter, as many have done by calling him anti-semetic, because that is not my place, I can’t help but recognize the the storm that this has created. I keep wondering, was it necessary? I believe it was not.

Now comes the big test of his desire for full communion with the Apotolic See. He must accept the Holy Father’s position on the Shoah and admit so publicly. We understand that the Shoah is not a matter of dogma, but when the Holy Father demands that a Catholic accept his position as a condition to further reconciliation, that is serious.

In a nutshell, he has carved a place in limbo for himself. He is neither excommunicated and free to do what he wants, such as create his own church, not is he able to function as a bishop within the Catholic Church. This is unfortunate, because this is a relatively younger man, who is probably very intelligent and may have some gifts to offer. Above all, he is probably a good man at heart.

God rescue us from the messes that we create for ourselves.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[miguel]

…Now comes the big test of his desire for full communion with the Apotolic See. He must accept the Holy Father’s position on the Shoah and admit so publicly. We understand that the Shoah is not a matter of dogma, but when the Holy Father demands that a Catholic accept his position as a condition to further reconciliation, that is serious.

It isn’t a matter of dogma, but it is a matter of the historical record of humanity. It is a matter of truth and filled with lessons for posterity. It is serious. And if he does actually retract his statements, they will likely be rejected as insincere. So what. He needs to do it anyway JR, like you keep saying, out of obedience. And the sooner the better.

 

[Darryl1958]

Because Bishop Wiliamson is not the only Catholic who downplays the Shoah, this publicity, while painful for Catholics, is not without its merits to the Church.

It is not a matter of dogma. It is a matter of common sense. the pope, God bless him, is letting all Catholics know, in no uncertain terms, that this kind of behavior is beneath the standard that the Church set for all of us.
Jesus is the Truth. If we love the truth, then we must respect and seek the truth.

We can only hope that bishop Williamson is not the only one hearing this message.

 

[JReducation]

It isn’t a matter of dogma, but it is a matter of the historical record of humanity. It is a matter of truth and filled with lessons for posterity. It is serious. And if he does actually retract his statements, they will likely be rejected as insincere. So what. He needs to do it anyway JR, like you keep saying, out of obedience. And the sooner the better.

I agree. The sooner the good bishop gets this behind him, the sooner we can proceed with the other issues of reunification between the SSPX and Rome. I don’t understand why he is having such a difficult time with this.

I think this may be of interest to those who are wondering about the effects in the USA. This is from Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s blog.

**On Monday, I met with a number of local Jewish leaders and Holocaust Survivors who shared with us their concerns at recent developments that affect Catholic-Jewish relations, including the Holy Father’s lifting of the excommunication of Bishop Williamson, a lefebvrite bishop who made public comments minimizing the extent of the Holocaust.

Father Ed O’Flaherty and Father David Michael from our Interreligious Affairs Office and Father Bryan Hehir accompanied me to the meeting.

We met with representatives of the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and other organizations. I was particularly impressed by the witness of two Holocaust survivors present, Israel Arbeiter and Steve Ross, who is the father of Steven Ross, the president of the Boston City Council. They spoke very eloquently of the horrors that they experienced on the death camps.

The meeting gave me an opportunity to reassure them that the Catholic Church repudiates any attempt to minimize or deny the Holocaust.

I also told them of our plans to move a Holocaust memorial menorah that is currently at the old chancery grounds in Brighton to the Pastoral Center in Braintree, and to have a rededication ceremony.

The next day, I spoke with Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is the pope’s representative for issues related to interreligious dialogue with the Jews, and he gladly agreed to attend the rededication ceremony that will take place on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25.

At the meeting, I also mentioned that we look forward to the Holy Father’s upcoming visit to Israel in May as another opportunity for the Holy Father, on behalf of the Catholic Church, to assure people of our repudiation of these Holocaust denials and an opportunity to express, once again, the special relationship of friendship that exists between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.**

cardinalseansblog.org/

Fraternally,

JR

 

[redrosetea]

While listening to Fr Groeschel tonight he spoke about people who think that theirs is the only path to salvation and go to extremes denouncing others that follow a different method…Fr is a psychologist and he said he believes they have a form of religious paranoia…It was a prerecorded program and I don’t think he was speaking of Williamson , just in general, about people with that mindset…he was answering questions in a mailbag program

I have thought this about Bishop Williamson, who is filled with lots of conspiracy theories, and strange attitudes about women…I honestly think he could be ill, and is more to be pitied than scorned

 

[JReducation]

While listening to Fr Groeschel tonight he spoke about people who think that theirs is the only path to salvation and go to extremes denouncing others that follow a different method…Fr is a psychologist and he said he believes they have a form of religious paranoia…It was a prerecorded program and I don’t think he was speaking of Williamson , just in general, about people with that mindset…he was answering questions in a mailbag program

I have thought this about Bishop Williamson, who is filled with lots of conspiracy theories, and strange attitudes about women…I honestly think he could be ill, and is more to be pitied than scorned

As a Franciscan Fr. Benedict will never speak ill of Bishop Williamson and neither would I, nor would we call his mental health into question in a public forum. That is forbidden by St. Francis. We are to honour all diocesan priests, even those who are the most sinful, said St. Francis.

The best that we can say is that his words were unfortunate and have raised some serious trust issues not only between Jews and Catholics, but between Catholics and him. That is very sad.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[redrosetea]

I am sure the timing of this program was purely coincidental…but I have a mother who is now suffering from Alzheimer disease and she can’t help the way she is, she is not respoinsible

It has made more more conscious that there could be more ill people in the world than is realized…

 

[JReducation]

I am sure the timing of this program was purely coincidental…but I have a mother who is now suffering from Alzheimer disease and she can’t help the way she is, she is not respoinsible

**It has made more more conscious that there could be more ill people in the world than is realized…/**QUOTE]

Bold is mine.

I’m probably one of these. Today we had our monthly fraternity chapter and I was out of it. :hypno:

JR

 

[redrosetea]

I have a hard time finding humor in mental illness. It is so sad and it can completely ruin the lives of so many…Mother Theresa called it the Crown of Thorns, and it truly is

 

[JReducation]

I have a hard time finding humor in mental illness. It is so sad and it can completely ruin the lives of so many…Mother Theresa called it the Crown of Thorns, and it truly is

Tell me about it. I run a high school for 120 students who are mentally handicapped.

JR

 

[redrosetea]

My poor mother has popped out with so many outrageous statements and sometimes really bad language that would make a sailor blush…If we were out in public people might think the worse of her and me…so I am not going to throw stones at someone that has made strange remarks that offend others and fly in the face of the truth…I hope this matter can be put to rest and people will let it drop…In the Bishops mind he might actually believe the stuff he has said, and think his apology was sincerely made

People should be mad at the TV station that gave this stuff a platform to begin with…it looks to me like they hoping to get something started, and they did

 

[selah603]

I have had my suspicions about Williamson’s mental status. I don’t like to judgmental but something within me nags at me about this whole situation
.
As mental health therapist, I see the inability to accept responsibility for one’s actions quite frequently.

I totally am behind the Pope’s insistance that Williamson recant before coming into full communion with the Church.

That doesn’t stop us from praying for him…maybe a good Lenten sacrifice???


You might want to read my article,Holocaust Bishop asked to recant
I am about to write an update and would appreciate any feedback, insights or suggestions you may have!

Thank you!

 

[JReducation]

My poor mother has popped out with so many outrageous statements and sometimes really bad language that would make a sailor blush…If we were out in public people might think the worse of her and me…so I am not going to throw stones at someone that has made strange remarks that offend others and fly in the face of the truth…I hope this matter can be put to rest and people will let it drop…In the Bishops mind he might actually believe the stuff he has said, and think his apology was sincerely made

People should be mad at the TV station that gave this stuff a platform to begin with…it looks to me like they hoping to get something started, and they did

We can’t let this go, because as you can see from the post the I put up from Cardinal Sean’ blog, this unfortunate statement made things very difficult for the Church around the globe. It even caused some diplomatic ruptures between the Vatican and other nations. The Vatican has to fix this now.

I would not be angry at the TV station, because they asked him a series of questions based on his background. The man had previous connections with some anti-semetic organizations. He is also an outspoken critic of ecumenism. Their questions were really on the money.

I believe that this was a misused opportunity. This interview took place months before they were to be re-communicated with Rome. He knew that the talks were in progress. This would have been an excellent time to make good use of the media to show the world that the SSPX is not all the bad things that people suspect they are, but that they are a good holy group who desire to be part of the Church and the world community.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[redrosetea]

Perhaps he did this hoping to derail the reconciliation with Rome?

I am content to let Rome handle this situation, and I really still have pity for the bishop, if he isn’t ill, and I think he might be, he is not a credit to his vocation…He has conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination, and Sept 11, and is a misogynist ,as far as I can tell, but forgiveness is a choice we make, not a feeling…He has apologized, and it is only for God to judge his sincerity not me…So I will forgive him…I am a sinner too

Someone in the Vatican wasn’t on their toes for this to escape being brought to the Popes attention

However the Bishop is still in need of our prayers…God will make something good happen from this…

 

[catharina]

Perhaps he did this hoping to derail the reconciliation with Rome?

I am content to let Rome handle this situation, and I really still have pity for the bishop, if he isn’t ill, and I think he might be, he is not a credit to his vocation…He has conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination, and Sept 11, and is a misogynist ,as far as I can tell, but forgiveness is a choice we make, not a feeling…He has apologized, and it is only for God to judge his sincerity not me…So I will forgive him…I am a sinner too

Someone in the Vatican wasn’t on their toes for this to escape being brought to the Popes attention

However the Bishop is still in need of our prayers…God will make something good happen from this…

God has already made something good happen from this. When an Iranian government official made similar charges in the very recent past, the Vatican had no opportunity then to take such a strong and public stand regarding the intolerable suffereings brought upon the Jewish people in WWII. Now the Vatican is free to speak out loudly and clearly and it has done so…

 

[bobzills]

I have had my suspicions about Williamson’s mental status. I don’t like to judgmental but something within me nags at me about this whole situation
.
As mental health therapist, I see the inability to accept responsibility for one’s actions quite frequently.

I totally am behind the Pope’s insistance that Williamson recant before coming into full communion with the Church.

That doesn’t stop us from praying for him…maybe a good Lenten sacrifice???


You might want to read my article,Holocaust Bishop asked to recant
I am about to write an update and would appreciate any feedback, insights or suggestions you may have!

Thank you!

“Williamson claims that six million Jews were not killed during the Holocaust …”
I believe that the article does not accurately state what the bishop actually said in the interview. For that reaons, I beleive it is a rather serious misrepresentation. In the interview I saw, he said that according to the evidence he saw, he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in gas chanbers, which is different from what the article claims.