Saturday, January 31, 2009

Bishop Williamson Apologizes to Pope for Furor [no pun intended] But Not for Holocaust Comments

Richard Williamson, who by Vatican standards, is not really a bishop, has sent a letter posted on his blog to the Cardinal [a real one] who serves as the mediator between the Vatican and Society of Pius X, the faction which rejects Vatican II.

He apologizes for the furor but not for his views.

Here is the full text of the letter:

To His Eminence Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos

Your Eminence

Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:

"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

Sincerely yours in Christ

+Richard Williamson

Note no retraction. No acknowledgment that he got the history wrong. No apology for his overt antisemitism.

The Vatican response was the following: "The Vatican has asked nothing of Monsignor Williamson, who is not an 'ordinary bishop' of the Catholic Church."


3 comments:

DANIELBLOOM said...

The major news site, Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, dpa, etc, reported this as well, saying he apoligized to the Pope for the troube he had caused but not apologzing for what his Holocaust denialism or his antisemitism. The news agencies conveniently left that part out of their reports, I guess thinking that readers could connect the dots. But I am not sure most readers will connect the dots. Once again, a poorly reported, sloppily reported news story on the world wires. SIGH.

hockey hound said...

"...he apoligized to the Pope for the troube he had caused but not apologzing for what his Holocaust denialism or his antisemitism."

Don't expect any apology from this guy anytime soon, Dan. For anti-Jewish hatemongers like Williamson, obduracy is advocated as a virtue. Not only that, they play the intellectual, as though the Jews should not be upset that someone would transmogrify the horrific truth of the Holocaust into a Jewish conspiracy.

I remember standing face to face toward the Hungarian war criminal Imra Finta long ago in Toronto. I saw him laugh at my Jewish friend when he confronted Finta about his collaboration with the Nazis in rounding up Jews for extermination. It's something I'll never forget. I met Sabrina Citron that day, a Holocaust survivor. I met Bernie Farber that day also, still a dear friend and now president of the CJC. My point in recounting my meeting these famous people is that, even with all this tidal wave of proof and intellect confronting this impenitent man, still Finta found something humourous in the death of 6 million Jewish men, women, and children. Finta believed, as do most Catholics like Williamson (isn't their silence proof enough of their mutual anti-Semitism?), that the Jews are cursed by the Christian god (primal New Testament theology) for rejecting Jesus and so who's to worry about a silly little Nazi genocide unleashed upon them?

The silence of the Catholic clergy regarding the reinstatement of Williamson is merely a tightening of the ranks against the honest scrutiny of decent human beings. These Catholic clergy don't care about what should be their collective shame as a consequence of Williamson's overt anti-Jewish hatred. These Catholic clergy are concerned only about deflecting blame, even well deserved blame, and honouring their own, right or wrong. Pope Ratzinger and his Bishops are betraying a sort of tribalism common to Muslim extremists. They are drawing a emblematical line in the sand between themselves and the Jewish people. What did you expect from a former Hitler Youth? Pope Ratzinger proves the truth of the old proverb, "Old sins cast long shadows."

"They will pardon you everything but not attacking the bishops." -Father Stanislav Musial, from Prof. Lipstadt's book History On Trial


"Fanatical devotion and commitment to your tribe and pack, accompanied by a fanatical intolerance and hatred of your enemy, are considered sterling virtues. Likewise, the virtues of the rational actor, such as the avoidance of violence, the willingness to compromise, tolerance of other tribes and their traditions, are looked upon as signs of cowardice, imbecility, or a traitorous lack of loyalty to one's tribe." -Lee Harris, from The Suicide of Reason

hockey hound said...

"...our enemies the Jews" -St. Augustine, who is sometimes referred to by Catholic religious as "the Doctor of Grace"...

Augustine was gracious only until it came to the Donatists, or the subject of Jews and their reverence for their G-D and their Torah.

"The trouble with love is what it can become in practice." -Bruce Chilton, The Sun (New York)