Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops, including British Bishop Richard Williamson, who a few days earlier said in an interview with Swedish State Television that the historical evidence "is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed" by Nazi Germany during the World War II.

The Pope might have his reasons for lifting the excommunication, but he has nevertheless been rightly condemned in the strongest terms for his act. The Pope's decision is at the very least disrespectful to the millions who were murdered. Further, his decision is unhelpful for the fostering of harmony between peoples at a time when the world's greatest challenge is the clash of civilizations. The holocaust happened on a Christian continent, the very heartland of Catholicism. The Catholic Church cannot be accused of collaboration in the holocaust, but neither can it escape its European history and take the role of an outsider.

Bishop Williamson is obviously a harmless fool. He would be wise to choose a less public arena for his odd, if not perverse, thoughts about the reality of our past.

Olli Raade

Editor

January 4, 2009

Please watch the video clip below of the interview: