Richard Williamson still doesn’t get it.The Vatican has rejected his latest limp attempt at an apology, issued the day after the Holocaust denier returned to his native Britain after being expelled from Argentina.
In his letter, details of which were posted on the Web site of the Roman Catholic news agency Zenit, the member of the ultra-tradionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) did not recant his remarks or indicate he had changed his views.
“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 said.
“The events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused.” He added, “To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize.”
The Vatican was quick to respond. As Rachel Donadio reported in the International Herald Tribune “in an informal statement to reporters on Friday, the Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said that Bishop Williamson’s apology ‘did not meet the expectations’ set forth by the Vatican this month.
Lombardi referred to a statement from the Vatican Secretariat of State on Feb. 4, which said that Bishop Williamson ‘must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his positions on the Shoah,’ or Holocaust, or he would not be allowed to serve as a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.”
Pope Benedict must now be asking “Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” Unlike Henry II he can’t go for the Thomas à Becket solution. He must also be regretting he took the step of bringing the SSPX back into the fold. His attempt to heal a schism in the Church has had the reverse effect of exposing many of its dirty little secrets.Back in England, Williamson is coming under fire from activists and fellow Catholics.Stephen Smith, director and founder of Britain’s National Holocaust Centre and chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, conceded, “The Argentinean government did the right thing by asking Richard Williamson to leave Argentina and publicly denouncing his views on the Holocaust.”But as he told the JTA news agency, “As a British citizen, it is not surprising he is returning home, but the U.K. must not be a safe haven for him and people like him. Denying the Holocaust is not the problem. The real problem is the anti-Semitism that lies behind it. Bishop Williamson is not a Holocaust denier; he is an anti-Semite who denies the Holocaust. It is never the other way around.”
“It would be much better if he was not here, but as a British citizen it cannot be prevented, ” added Lord Janner, president of the Holocaust Educational Trust, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Catholic Church in England and Wales also condemned his Holocaust views.
“He is not and never has been a Catholic bishop. His ordination was illicit and is not recognized by us,” a spokesman told the Daily Mirror. In his blog, Father Ray Blake, a parish priest in Brighton notes,“This wretched man has issued a statement, it doesn’t say much or repair any of the damage done by him to the memory of those Jews who died under the Nazis, to the reputation of the Catholic Church or of the Holy Father or of anyone who is anxious for his Society’s reconciliation.Having seen this man wearing his ridiculous baseball cap and dark glasses in the airport in Argentina. I hope the next time he is exposed to the world media he is barefoot in sackcloth and ashes, kneeling and begging for forgiveness.Am I lacking in mercy? In this instance, firmly Yes!”
As for the man himself, in an interview with Der Spiegel this month, he attributed the media coverage to hatred of the SSPX and the German-born Pope.
“Spiegel: Your statements and the lifting of your excommunication have triggered protests worldwide. Can you understand this?Williamson: A single interview on Swedish television has dominated the news for weeks in Germany. Yes, it does surprise me. Is this the case with all violations of the law in Germany? Hardly. No, I am only the tool here, so that action can be taken against the SSPX and the pope. Apparently Germany’s leftist Catholicism has not yet forgiven Ratzinger for becoming pope.”+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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(Posting 1600 of 2009)