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January 26, 2009

Pope Revokes Excommunication of Holocaust-Denying Bishop
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In religious news. Pope Benedict has revoked the excommunication of four
conservative bishops who were removed from the church two decades ago
for opposing the modernization of the church. All four bishops are
members of the Society of Saint Pius X, a deeply conservative and
traditional group that was founded to protest the changes spurred by
Vatican II. Jewish groups condemned the Pope’s decision because one of
the Bishops, Richard Williamson, is a well known Holocaust denier.

Robert Rozett of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum: “We believe the
question of excommunicating or not excommunicating a member of the
Church is an internal matter for the Church. Nevertheless, we find it
scandalous that a member of the Church at this high level, a bishop, has
views of denying the Holocaust. Such views are an insult to the memory
of the Holocaust, to the victims and to the survivors, to those who
rescued Jews during the Holocaust and, more than anything else, to
truth, to historical truth. We continue to hope that the Vatican will
take concerted efforts to condemn these views and the people that hold
such views.”



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