Bp Williamson Declaration Of Apology

[KnightofChrist]

[url="http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2009/02/declaration-holy-father-and-my-superior.html"]RORATE CÆLI[/url]

DECLARATION

The Holy Father and my Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy.

Observing these consequences 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.

On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (..."I believe"..."I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available and rarely expressed in public since. However, 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. To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said before God I apologise.

As the Holy Father has said, every act of injust violence against one man hurts all mankind.

+Richard Williamson
London, 26 February 2009.

Edited February 26, 2009 by KnightofChrist

[goldenchild17]

[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090227/wl_nm/us_pope_bishop_holocaust;_ylt=Av1DJQLfLa.NIcTDl_c5jAS9IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTE5dGF2NzdnBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bi1tb3N0LXZpZXdlZARzbGsDdmF0aWNhbnJlamVj"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090227/wl_nm/...mF0aWNhbnJlamVj[/url]


[size=4][b]Vatican rejects Holocaust-denying bishop's apology[/b][/size]
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By Philip Pullella – Fri Feb 27, 2:56 pm ET
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AP – Reporter confronts Holocaust-denying bishop
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Reuters – British-born Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson © is escorted by police on his arrival at Heathrow …
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican on Friday rejected an apology from a bishop whose denial of the Holocaust caused international uproar between Jews and Catholics, saying it did not meet its demand for a full and public recanting.
Jewish groups praised the Vatican for its tough stand, which Vatican sources said will likely make it harder for the traditionalist bishop to be fully re-admitted into the Church and lead to greater scrutiny of the society to which he belongs.
British Bishop Richard Williamson, who was ordered to leave Argentina and is now in his homeland, on Thursday issued a statement in which he said, "To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize."
Chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Williamson's statement "does not seem to respect the conditions" set forth by the Vatican on February 4, when it ordered him to "in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions" regarding the Holocaust.
On January 24, Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications of Williamson and three other bishops to try to heal a 20-year-old schism that began when they were thrown out of the Church for being ordained without the permission of Pope John Paul II.
Among those who condemned Williamson and the pope's decision were Holocaust survivors, progressive Catholics, members of the U.S. Congress, Israel's Chief Rabbinate, German Jewish leaders and Jewish writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.
Williamson told Swedish television in an interview broadcast on January 21, "I believe there were no gas chambers." He said no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, rather than the 6 million accepted by most historians.
In his statement on Thursday, 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."
JEWS SAY APOLOGY 'EMPTY'
Jewish groups praised the Vatican for not accepting Williamson's apology.
"The Vatican clearly understands the critical issue here," said David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee. "Williamson still refuses to acknowledge the Holocaust as a historical fact. Until he explicitly says otherwise, he remains in the camp of the Holocaust deniers. He is not fooling anyone, least of all the Vatican."
"We commend the Vatican for standing firm and not permitting a person who believes that the Nazi Holocaust is a lie to have any role in the Church," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Even before the Vatican rejected Williamson's statement, Jewish groups branded his apology as shallow and empty.
"As he clearly failed to retract his malicious lies, Williamson has again shown that he is a staunch anti-Semite and incorrigible Holocaust denier who doubts the genocide of six million Jewish people," said Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Williamson made his comments denying the Holocaust in Germany, where such comments are a crime.
Williamson arrived in Britain earlier this week after he was ordered to leave Argentina, where he was director of a seminary of the ultra-traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).
The controversy over Williamson's comments and the pope's decision to lift his excommunication led to the worst crisis in Catholic-Jewish relations in half a century.
On February 12 the pope, in an attempt to defuse the crisis, told Jewish leaders that "any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable," especially from a clergyman.
The row over Williamson has led many to take a closer look at the SSPX, its view of Jews and its future in the Church.
The Vatican says that before the SSPX can be fully readmitted into the Church, its leaders and members must first accept the teachings of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which urged respect for Judaism and other religions.
A key Council document repudiated the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death.
(Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers in Berlin and Catherine Bosley and Luke Baker in London; Editing by Matthew Jones)

[Nihil Obstat]

That's something I didn't expect...

[Aloysius]

+Fellay says Apology "a step in the right direction"
BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of a traditionalist Catholic group said an apology from a fellow bishop for denying the Holocaust was an important step, but he hoped the bishop would now stay silent.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) told a German weekly that the apology from British Bishop Richard Williamson, also a member of SSPX, was honest.

"It is a first request for forgiveness and an important step in the right direction," Fellay told Der Spiegel.

Williamson's denial of the Holocaust caused international uproar. In January, Pope Benedict enraged many Jews and Catholics by lifting the excommunications of the British bishop, along with three other SSPX bishops.

Williamson has said he believes no more than 300,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust and that there were no gas chambers. Nazis killed six million Jews in the Holocaust.

The Vatican on Friday rejected Williamson's apology, saying it did not meet its demand for full and public recanting.

Fellay reiterated that Williamson had damaged the SSPX and sought to put distance between himself and the bishop.

Asked why the SSPX did not exclude Williamson, Fellay said:

"If he denies the Holocaust again, that will happen. It is probably better if he stays quiet and stays in a corner somewhere." He added it was, in his view, unlikely that the Vatican would excommunicate Williamson again.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Dominic Evans)

[HisChildForever]

[b]On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (..."I believe"..."I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available and rarely expressed in public since.[/b]

Why is sticking to his original opinion even though:
(a) He is not a historian and therefore is not qualified to assess the Holocaust as he has
(b) The evidence he bases his opinion on is two decades old and he claims that he bases his opinion on it because beyond that knowledge, discussion of the gas chambers is "rarely expressed in public" (which is simply untrue)

How does he account for the reports from Holocaust survivors who explicitly state that they watched their loved ones forced into the chambers? The survivors whose job it was to remove and bury the bodies?

Edited February 28, 2009 by HisChildForever

[Apotheoun]

The "Vatican," whoever that is, would do well to remember the words of Christ, who said: "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1793665' date='Feb 28 2009, 02:47 PM']The "Vatican," whoever that is, would do well to remember the words of Christ, who said: "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."[/quote]

Are you criticizing the Vatican?

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1793666' date='Feb 28 2009, 12:50 PM']Are you criticizing the Vatican? [/quote]
Yes.

[CatholicCid]

I, to, wonder who "the Vatican" is? Who made the statement they are basing the title off?

The one report I read said, it was a nice statement, but did not meet the guidelines they had requested. Or, it's a nice step, but it's not over yet.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1793669' date='Feb 28 2009, 12:52 PM']I, to, wonder who "the Vatican" is? Who made the statement they are basing the title off?[/quote]
Yes, someone who has chosen to remain nameless, has refused to accept an act of apology.

How truly Christlike.

[CatholicCid]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1793670' date='Feb 28 2009, 03:54 PM']Yes, someone who has chosen to remain nameless, has refused to accept an act of apology.

How truly Christlike.[/quote]

I prefer Mr. No-Name.

Anyway, I think this sums it up "Chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Williamson's statement "does not seem to respect the conditions" set forth by the Vatican on February 4, when it ordered him to "in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions" regarding the Holocaust."

Again, they are not "rejecting" his apology, but acknowledging that it falls short of what they asked for. I'm sure the good Bishop will have more to say once he readdresses the issues.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1793681' date='Feb 28 2009, 01:23 PM']I prefer Mr. No-Name.

Anyway, I think this sums it up "Chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Williamson's statement "does not seem to respect the conditions" set forth by the Vatican on February 4, when it ordered him to "in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions" regarding the Holocaust."

Again, they are not "rejecting" his apology, but acknowledging that it falls short of what they asked for. I'm sure the good Bishop will have more to say once he readdresses the issues.[/quote]
The problem with the whole situation is that Bishop Williamson has no reason to apologize, to anyone, for anything. The fact that he disagrees with the majority view of historians on the nature and extent of the holocaust is not something that anyone should have to apologize about.

It is sad to see Vatican officials giving in to political correctness.

[CatholicCid]

I'd disagree to an extent. His statements shouldn't affect his stance in regards to the Church, however, his public statements have caused a public scandal. He should attempt to reconcile his views with historical fact, which he has said he will attempt to do.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1793681' date='Feb 28 2009, 01:23 PM']Anyway, I think this sums it up "Chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Williamson's statement "[b]does not seem to respect the conditions[/b]" set forth by the Vatican on February 4, when it ordered him to "[b]in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions[/b]" regarding the Holocaust."[/quote]
The Vatican has no right, nor does it have the power, to order an apology of this type from anyone. This kind of political correctness in the Church is dangerous in the extreme, because it gives the appearance that the pope himself does not understand the true nature of his office. That said, this is perhaps the lowest episode in papal history since Pope Honorius I was condemned by an ecumenical council for a lack of resolve in the face of the monothelite threat to the faith of the Church.

Edited February 28, 2009 by Apotheoun

[CatholicCid]

I would ponder what the conditions set before him were, if they were made public?