Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Vatican demands Holocaust denier publicly recant
Wed Feb 4, 2009 2:52pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Wednesday ordered a traditionalist bishop who denies the Holocaust to publicly recant his views if he wants to serve as a prelate in the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican said Pope Benedict was not aware of Bishop Richard Williamson's denial of the Holocaust when the pontiff lifted excommunications on him and three other traditionalist bishops last month.
It also said the traditionalist movement the bishop belongs to must accept all teachings of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which urged respect for Judaism and other religions, as well as all the teachings of popes since 1958.
"Williamson, in order to be admitted to the episcopal functions of the Church, must in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions regarding the Shoah," a statement said, using the Hebrew word for Holocaust.
His views on the Holocaust were "absolutely unacceptable and firmly rejected by the Holy Father," it said.
On January 24, Benedict lifted the excommunications of the four 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 mainstream historians.
Williamson later apologized to the pope "for the unnecessary distress" he caused him but has not yet recanted.
"WORST BLUNDERS"
Jewish leaders welcomed the statement but some appeared to question the Vatican's version of events.
"Finally, the Vatican has taken responsibility for one of the worst blunders in recent history ..., " said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
"What is particularly astounding is the Vatican assertion that they didn't know about his Holocaust views. All somebody had to do was Google him and they would have found them," he added in a statement.
"This is, however, a step in the right direction and if Williamson refuses to recant, the Vatican should excommunicate him - this time permanently."
Germany's Central Council of Jews said the move was a positive signal and a reaction to Chancellor Angela Merkel's demand for clarification, adding it could lead to a resumption of ties with the Church broken off last week.
The row over Williamson has led many to take a closer look at the traditionalist group, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), its view of Jews and its future in the Church. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
World powers welcome Obama's talk offer to Iran
Also on Reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: Pittsburgh fans cheer the return of their team
Google quietly declares email war on Yahoo
Video
Video: Hurt python becomes family pet in India
More International News
Kyrgyzstan starts moves to close U.S. airbase
| Video
Israel admits its troops killed Gaza girls
| Video
World powers welcome Obama's talk offer to Iran
North Korea may test-fire missile toward Japan: reports
| Video
UK judges accuse U.S. over Guantanamo case
More International News...
Related News
German Council of Jews welcomes Vatican about-turn
1:31pm EST
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Obama to set executive pay limits
Miley Cyrus' slant-eye pose slammed by Asian group
German pope becomes an embarrassment in homeland
Obama sets executive pay limits for bailout companies | Video
Google quietly declares email war on Yahoo | Video
Whistleblower says Madoff had help, blasts SEC | Video
Kyrgyzstan starts moves to close U.S. airbase | Video
CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Japan sewage yields more gold than top mines
Madoff whistleblower feared for his safety
North Korea may test-fire missile toward Japan: reports | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Hurt python becomes family pet
Obama nominee Daschle withdraws
Toshiba targets iPhone with TG01
India's vultures in serious decline
A strategy in Progress
Japan accuses activists of attack
China's Wen unfazed by shoe throwing
Doctors to help stricken woman die
Al Qaeda suspects seized
Mideast envoy returns
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
World Affairs:
America's long Afghan war
Bernd Debusmann
Twenty years ago, the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan after a disastrous war that lasted over nine years. Barring a miracle, the U.S. will stay considerably longer in Afghanistan. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.