Nazi row bishop says he's sorry (sort of)
The man now known across the world as the Holocaust-denying bishop has made a public statement expressing regret at having made comments denying the full extent of the Shoah because of the international outrage his comments triggered. Earlier this month, his controversial views. In the bishop's statement, published (and in English ), he uses the word "regret" but fails to acknowledge that his initial claims were wrong. His language is careful, but many will regard this latest statement as falling short of the repudiation that was called for by the Vatican. The full text is as follows:
"The Holy Father and my Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy."
"Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them.
"On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (...I believe"...I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available and rarely expressed in public since. However, the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused. To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said before God I apologise."
"As the Holy Father has said, every act of injust violence against one man hurts all mankind."
Update: Dr Stephen Smith MBE, Director and Founder of the Holocaust Centre, and chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, has responded bishop's statement: "If Bishop Williamson is sincere in his apology and - recognising the harm caused by his original statement - wishes to understand the truth that was the Holocaust, I invite him to visit us at the Holocaust Centre at any time, so that in future his views will be based on historical fact rather than 20 year old antisemitic myths."
Update: . The Pope's spokesman says the apology by Bishop Williamson falls short of fully recanting his holocaust denials.
Comment number 1.
At 27th Feb 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:William Crawley:
Then he is accepting partial responsibility for what his comments were....
~Dennis Junior~
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Comment number 2.
At 27th Feb 2009, promdresscheap1 wrote:Good thing he accepted his mistakes.
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Comment number 3.
At 27th Feb 2009, SheffTim wrote:"an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available and rarely expressed in public since."
But has he looked anew at the evidence? Has his opinion now changed? Is he prepared to admit that he was wrong?
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Comment number 4.
At 27th Feb 2009, brianmcclinton wrote:"An opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available"??
The Pope and many other religious leaders knew of the Holocaust when it was happening. The Allies discovered the evidence when they 'liberated' some of the camps. I taught it in school from 1969 when I became a teacher.
The World Encyclopedia has this entry in the 1960s:
"Auschwitz
In June, 1941, it became an extermination centre when four huge gas chambers were installed. Rudolf Hoess, who directed the camp for more than three years, testified at the Nuremberg trials that more than 2.5 million persons were executed at Auschwitz".
In other words, much of the information was the opposite of what he is implying. It is not that only in the 20 years we have found out about the full extent of what happened but that some figures have been revised downward. Two and a half million Jews were not gassed at Auschwitz. More likely it was about one and a half million.
Adolf Eichmann gave the total victims as 6 million during his trial in the early 1960s, nearly 50 years ago. More recent estimates suggest that five and a half million might be closer to the truth.
So he is talking nonsense about the evidence.
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Comment number 5.
At 27th Feb 2009, jovialPTL wrote:The bishop saws he regrets the upset and hurt he has caused "especially to the church, but also to ..." the survivors of the holocaust. He's more worried about giving the Pope some bad press than about the victims themselves.
And he can't bring himself to even use the word "holocaust" in his statement.
It's a sham.
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Comment number 6.
At 27th Feb 2009, portwyne wrote:I find the statement utterly outrageous. The word he uses to rank his regret for the harm and pain his remarks aroused, surtout, is stronger than William's correct but generous translation especially. He makes it clear that his regret is first and foremost, above all, for the damage to the Church - the distress of relatives and survivors is an afterthought, a very secondary consideration.
In so carefully crafted a statement by a man taught, as he would have been, how to use the structure of language as well mere vocabulary to convey meaning he is clearly stating - "I had to make this statement of regret but, Jewish people, you're still the untermenschen and don't you forget it".
The hybris of the man is further demonstrated by his concluding dig where his apology, only to those genuinely offended, indicates an inability even to perceive the reality and the extent of the disgust civilisation feels at his pronouncements
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Comment number 7.
At 27th Feb 2009, Darren Paskell wrote:How sad it is that the virtue of humility appears to be so readily absent from Bishop Richard Williamson's statement.
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Comment number 8.
At 28th Feb 2009, MarcusAureliusII wrote:The Vatican isn't buying it.
After the recent string of PR disasters, they can't afford to. Besides, Bishop Williamson is going to hell anyway. If there is a hell. Everyone in favor of sending Bishop Williamson to hell raise your hand......OK, then it's settled.
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