An archconservative bishop whose excommunication was lifted by the Vatican is refusing to recant his denial of the Holocaust until he reviews the "historical evidence."Under fire from Jewish leaders, Pope Benedict XVI has demanded that Richard Williamson repudiate his comments that Jews were not gassed by the Nazis and only 300,000 died in concentration camps.
Williamson, a British national who lives in Argentina, told the German magazine Der Spiegel he's in no rush to comply.
"Since I see that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must look again at the historical evidence," he said in an e-mail printed Saturday.
"It is about historical evidence, not about emotions. And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time," he wrote.
"I was convinced that my comments were right on the basis of my research in the '80s," Williamson wrote. "I must now examine everything again and look at the evidence."
Williamson was excommunicated in 1988 after a rogue archbishop who headed the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X consecrated him and three other bishops without papal permission.
The excommunications were reversed last month - and the Vatican immediately came under withering criticism for bringing a Holocaust denier back into the fold.
Israel's chief Rabbinate froze ties with the Vatican over the controversy and pulled out of a meeting set for March. But the meeting was rescheduled as the Pope took pains to control damage from the blunder.
The Vatican said the Pope wasn't aware of Williamson's controversial comments when he lifted the excommunication and was just hoping to mend a schism in the church.
The pontiff ordered Williamson to publicly recant if he wants to serve as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
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(Source: DN)