SSPX Bp. Williamson: ‘There were no gas chambers’

Here is an interesting piece from Ruth Gledhill of The Times:

My emphases.

Traditionalist bishop: ‘There were no gas chambers’

Bishop Richard Williamson is a hardline ultra-conservative bishop of the Society of St Pius X. He faces possible prosecution for Holocaust denial in Germany after an interview with a reporter from Stockholm TV in which he claimed that six million Jews did not die in the Holocaust, merely a few thousand, and that the gas chambers did not exist. CathCon has the translation of the Der Spiegel report. In an earlier story in the Catholic Herald,  Bishop Williamson, former Anglican and a Cambridge graduate, was exposed as endorsing the forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In his previous utterances which have caused repeated deep offence to the Jewish community as well as many Catholics and other Christians who have heeded the message of Christian repentance towards the Jewish community as spelled out in the documents of Vatican II and elsewhere, the Society has refused to distance itself from him. He was actually ordained by its founder, Marcel Lefebvre, and has been an important voice in the society.

There are repeated reports that Pope Benedict XVI wishes to bring the society back into the Catholic fold. After the upset in the Jewish community caused by the Good Friday prayer in the revivified Latin Mass, that would be another nail in the cross of Jewish-Catholic relations, unless some way is found of doing it without this man.

Now it looks as though Williamson might have gone too far, even for his traditionalist brethren, and that he might at last face some sort of disciplinary action from the society, most if not none of whose members do not share his views. This would then make it possible for the Pope to realise his dream of bringing the society back into the fold, without Williamson.

If he brings them back in with Williamson on board, then truly it will be a disaster. Vatican II might as well never have happened and it won’t just  be the Jewish community that would be justifiably disgusted. For many thousands of lay Catholics the world over, this could be the final proof that what the atheist bus campaign suggested was true: ‘There probably is no God.’ At least not the God that Williamson and his like believe in. Who could blame them, then, if they put traditionalist Catholic guilt aside, and get on and enjoy their lives.

In the meantime, I received this note via e-mail:

For the third time in some months, a few hours ago, well known – and usually knowledgeable spanish blogger Fernandez de la Cigoña, affirms that tomorrow [?!?] the excommunication of the FSSPX bishops will be lifted (or nullified). The post HERE. (Spanish).

Mr. Cigoña has a proven track record of good (near) vatican sources and has gotten a few many scoops; sources he cloaks under the  "Cardinal Re" signature.

Praying for seeing it confirmed and that it proves salutary to the Universal Church.

As do we all. 

As do we all.

UPDATE 22 Jan 1505 GMT

I found a video at Damian’s place.

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