Calls for Pope Benedict XVI to Step Down Heat Up after He Allowed Holocaust Denier Bishop Richard Williamson, Four Others, Back into the Fold

I am all for people speaking out against the ills of our society, but to call for Pope Benedict XVI to step down because of his decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust denier Richard Williamson and four other bishops is simply ridiculous. How come nobody bothered to call for the previous Pope to step down after the thousands of revelations of sexual abuse a myriad of Roman Catholic priests, some of who were moved around from parish to parish? This latest wave of criticisms after the Pontiff’s announcement have been particularly acrimonious in Germany, where denying the Holocaust is a crime punishable with a jail sentence. I don’t dispute that fact. They are right to condemn his actions, but to ask him to step down is ridiculous. The Vatican clearly made a serious error in its actions and it needs to apologize to the Jews.

“If the pope wants to do some good for the Church, he should leave his job,” eminent liberal Catholic theologian Hermann Haering told the German daily Tageszeitung. “That would not be a scandal, a bishop has to relinquish his position at 75 years, a cardinal loses his rights at 80 years,” he said. Pope Benedict is 81.

Meanwhile, a senior Vatican official acknowledged the Vatican administration may have made “management errors” with the decision to , whose comments sparked the controversy. “I observe the debate with great concern. There were misunderstandings and management errors in the Curia,” said Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is in charge of the Vatican department that deals with Jewish relations. “The Pope wanted to open the debate because he wanted unity inside and outside,” the German cardinal told Vatican Radio. He also noted that “these bishops are still suspended.” Source: Breitbart

Williamson, an English bishop had dismissed as “lies” historical evidence that six million Jews were gassed by the Nazis during World War II. Jews and Catholics alike have produced widespread criticism. From the start, I saw Pope Benedict to be a very controversial person, much to the knowledge of many, so they should not be terribly surprised by his actions. Just last week he named a controversial ultra-conservative priest as auxiliary bishop in Linz, criticism also came from within the Church. It is painfully obvious that he has his own agenda and doesn’t seem to care one iota that his decisions seem to be on the ruthless side. They knew exactly what they were getting when the made him the Pope. Now deal with it. So, I guess there was no slavery either? Unbelievable.

Filed under: Bishop Richard Williamson, Holocaust Deniers, Nazi Germany, Nazis, Pope Benedict XVI, Roman Catholics, The Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI Welcomes Holocaust Denier Bishop Richard Williamson and Three Other Bishops Back into the Fold

I am not a Catholic, but I do know that Pope Benedict XVI is ticking people off, one group at a time, with his radical views. It seems that Jewish officials in Israel and overseas are outraged that he decided to lift the excommunication of a bishop who denies that Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers. The pope’s decree, issued Saturday, brings back into the Catholic Church’s fold Bishop Richard Williamson and three other bishops who belong to the Society of Saint Pius X.

The society was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve, who rebelled against the Vatican’s modernizing reforms in the 1960s, and who consecrated the men in unsanctioned ceremonies. As a result, Pope John Paul II excommunicated the four in 1988.

The church’s decision to lift the excommunication comes a few days after a Swedish television aired an interview with Williamson in which he claimed the Nazis did not use gas chambers.

“I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against — is hugely against — 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler,” he said in the interview, which appeared on various Web sites since its broadcast. “I believe there were no gas chambers,” he added. Source: NY Daily News

So, what the Pope is saying is that it is okay to welcome a known holocaust denier into his fold. Hmmm, then he has a problem with gays and lesbians? What gives? The Pope’s actions sends a terrible message to Catholics worldwide. He’s saying there is room at his table for bigotry and racial hatred.

Filed under: Bishop Richard Williamson, Holocaust Deniers, Pope Benedict XVI, Society of Saint Pius X