For those who don't know, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in the past couple weeks has lifted the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X. This was done in the hopes of rehabilitating those schismatic bishops and bringing them back into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church.
But now as a result of his act of reconciliation with these bishops, His Holiness faces criticism and condemnation on the part of his own native homeland and his German brethren. Why? Because one of these renegade bishops, Richard Williamson, has publicly stated his disbelief in the Holocaust as historians accept it. He does not deny the Holocaust wholesale, but he believes that was only 300,000 Jews who perished (5% of the actual estimate), and denies the existence of the gas chambers.
Let me begin by saying that I accept the facts and figures of the Holocaust, and that I join my Jewish friends in mourning on Yom Hashoah. I find it offensive and ignorant when someone even tries to mitigate the impact of the Holocaust; Richard Williamson should be corrected and reprimanded for his ignorant remarks about a great tragedy wherein not only Jews were killed, but also Roma, Poles, Soviets, and devout Christians of many denominations who stood against the tyranny of the Nazis. Bishop Williamson should be reminded of the martyrs created by Nazi cruelty, including Saints Maximillian Kolbe and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
That being said, I wish that people would not condemn the Pope for lifting Williamson's excommunication. First of all, he was not excommunicated for denying the Holocaust (though I wouldn't blame anyone for doing so). His excommunication in June/July of 1988 was for being consecrated a bishop along with three others by Archbishop Lefebvre, without Vatican approval. For those who don't know, being consecrated a bishop, or being ordained as a priest without proper approval incurs motu propria excommunication in the Catholic Church. That means that the excommunication is automatic when the offense takes place; no official declaration is necessary, the second they accepted consecration, they were out. Other offenses also incur motu propria excommunication, such as procuring or aiding an abortion, or desecrating the Eucharist. Still, that the illicit conseration was the reason for Williamson's excommunication, not for comments on the Holocaust.
The reason the Pope lifted Williamson's excommunication is that Williamson and the three other renegade bishops sent a message to Catholic officials expressing a desire to rejoin the Church. These four bishops are leaders of the Fraternity of St. Pius X, a tradionalist group that desires to practice Catholicism as it was before the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. This council, also known as Vatican II, allowed for Mass to be said in vernacular languages instead of Latin, among many other changes in the Church. Some thought the changes of Vatican II were too radical, even heretical, leading to some outright breaks with the Roman Catholic Church. Some have even elected their own anti-popes. However, Pope Benedict XVI has recently extended an olive branch to all Traditionalist Catholics, both in and out of communion with the Church. He first did this by allowing lay persons to band together and request Tridentine (traditional Latin) Masses at their Churches. Now, he is trying to welcome back the schismatics, one step at a time. By lifting the the 1988 excommunications, he is sending a message that strict Traditionalists are welcome in the Catholic Church.
My point is that you can criticisze Bishop Williamson for his ignorant remarks all you want, and I will join you. You can encourage the Pope to reprimand him, and to correct his error. But it is unfair to criticize His Holiness for trying to reconcile Williamson because of a matter unrelated to his excommunication. By allowing the renegade bishop back into communion with the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict is not endorsing his Holocaust denial. I'm sure the reconciliation process, of which the lifting of excommunication is only the first step, will include a degree of reeducation of Williamson and his colleagues in matters of both faith and history.
Gloria Christo et Vivat Papa!
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