Richard Williamson, a Roman Catholic bishop who denied the Holocaust and was reinstated to the church last month by Pope Benedict XVI, left Argentina today under threat of expulsion.
Williamson, wearing a black baseball cap and sunglasses, stopped to wave his fist in the face of a reporter for the Todo Noticias news channel at Buenos Aires’s international airport. The reporter was then held back by two unidentified men accompanying the cleric.
The U.K.-born Williamson, 68, who lived near the Argentine capital, was on a flight to London that departed shortly after 2 p.m. local time, the Interior Ministry said.
The pope’s Jan. 24 decision to lift the excommunication of Williamson and three other traditionalist priests who broke with the church in the 1980s prompted criticism from Jewish groups and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The pope has called for Williamson to retract the remarks before he can be officially reinstated.
In a Swedish television interview last month, Williamson said that the “historical evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy by Adolf Hitler.”
Argentine Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said Feb. 19 that those comments “deeply hurt Argentine society, the Jewish people and humanity.” He said Williamson misled immigration authorities about his work in the South American country and had 10 days to leave or be forcibly expelled.
(Source: Bloomberg News)
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7 Responses
This whole thing is absurd. While it is nice there are those in the church who try to be humane, Williamson spouts exactly what neo-nazi (ys) punks say all the time, only that Williamson dresses differently.
Frankly, based on world history, the church should excommunicate itself for ideas, actions, and possession of stolen goods.
How can a Jew give is own opinion about who the Catholic Church should or should not excommunicate for their views and at the same ask for the right of speech for everyone about anything? Furthermore, since when did official Church doctrine include views about secular history one way or the other? Last time I checked Church doctrine revolved around questions of theology, messiah, etc. etc. etc.
I THINK THAT WE JEWS–IN GOLUS–SHOULD BE VERY LEERY OF GETTING INVOLVED IN INTERNAL CHURCH AFFAIRS.
#3, well said.
We can have opinions about individuals in the church but should never get involved with their internal policies. Imagine if we again had to hide what we do and have our halochos restricted by the church. Let them do their avodo zorro the way they want.Who cares what they believe in,they are not Jews.
#2, For the same reason the Catholic Church can take what is Jewish and put their opinion on matters and sell it to the world whether the world likes it or not. In short, because I can.
#2, The last time you checked what Church doctrine revolved around must have been a long time ago. Now it includes encouraging immigrants to violate federal immigration laws, it encourages hiding from prosecution it’s members who have violated its underage members…and, of course, money and property.