The Holocaust-denying bishop whose caused a rift between the Vatican and Jews has reportedly apologized to Holocaust victims and the Catholic Church for his comments.
In a statement to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei cited by Catholic news agency Zenit, Bishop Richard Williamson expressed his ”regret” for having claimed on Swedish television that there were no gas chambers and only 300,000 Jews died in the Holocaust, not six million.
”I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt they would create, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them,” he said.
Williamson says his comments were the ”opinion… of a non-historian” that was ”formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence available at the time, and rarely expressed in public since.
”I apologize before God to all the souls who took honest offence at what I said.
”As the Pope has said, every act of unjust violence against one man is violence against all men,” he added, referring to an address by Pope Benedict XVI last month.
The Vatican press office said Thursday it had not been informed of the apology.
The Vatican has worked hard to close the rift with Jewish leaders caused by last month’s lifting of Williamson’s 1988 excommunication.
Williamson, a member of the traditionalist Saint Pius X group that split with the Vatican over the liberal reforms of the 1960s, was rehabilitated on January 21.
The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI was unaware of Williamson’s views when he lifted his excommunication.
Earlier this month the Latin American section of his group sacked the bishop as head of a seminary near Buenos Aires, which he had run since 2003, after he refused Pope Benedict XVI’s call for him to retract his comments.
Williamson, 68, returned to Britain Tuesday after being ordered out of Argentina because of alleged irregularities in his documents.
(Eli Gefen – YWN Desk / Fox News / ANSA)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
10 Responses
very sincerce
According to religious penance, a person must not only apologize for the effect of his stated beliefs on others, i.e. being offended and hurt. A person must also confess the error of the stated words. This is what was required by the Inquisition in Spain under Torquemada, and lechoyra this is what is required here as well.
note he didnt retract the comments
he didnt say his comments were untrue
he only regretted that he said them
He did not say he has a different opinion. He only apoligizes to anyone offended by his words.
What a very carefully worded statement. If looked at carefull it is not an apology.
no its not an apology at all
he is merely admitting to a tactical error
but it will probably work
“I’m so sorry…that my antisemitism became public.”
“I apologize…that you are offended”
His opinion was based upon evidence from 20 years ago? Even the defendants at the Nuremberg trial didn’t deny what happened. Shame on the church, its true colors are shining through.
The Rasha still believes them, but he’s sorry he said them.Let him pager a very extreme painfull miseh m,’shuneh. Ymach Shemo Vezicro
Nice strategy to proceed with unexcommuncating (or whatever they call it) him. I personally feel he is not sincere and not only that, his personal antisemitic hatred is probably greater now.
Well at least the Vatican has acknowledged that this wasn’t really an apology. Per an AP report, the Vatican apparently found the “apology” insufficient and said that Williamson must unequivocally repudiate those views before he can return from excommunication.