Is the End of the Williamson Furor in Sight?
More importantly, Williamson's remarks in an interview with Swedish television are, as my friend Tom Piatak notes, "views which no rational person can impute to Benedict XVI." The Holy Father and his predecessors have been clear and emphatic in their denunciations of the Holocaust, and Pope Benedict has spoken of it as a "warning," which he hopes "will lead humanity to reflect upon the unfathomable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man."
Unable to bind Benedict to Williamson, the media have resorted to distortions that, once again, any person of good will can see through. Joseph Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth, much trumpeted in newspaper editorials, was not by choice, but a requirement of German law during the Third Reich, and the only bearing it has on this case is to highlight not only his but his family's opposition from the very beginning to Hitler and to National Socialist ideology.
Those who despise the Holy Father for other reasons--his vigorous defense of the traditional moral teachings of the Catholic Church; his insistence, as one of the theologians of Vatican II, that the council does not represent the break from the past that both liberal Catholics and some traditionalist ones claim; his restoration of the traditional Latin Mass as one of the two approved forms of the Mass; indeed, even his nationality--will continue to attack him. The Williamson affair has simply given them cover for doing what they were already doing, while opening up opportunities to spread those attacks through the media.
Meanwhile, the tide begins to turn, as the traditionalist website Rorate Caeli notes. SSPX has expelled an Italian priest for agreeing with Bishop Williamson's views and attacking Rome in the wake of the lifting of the excommunications; Bishop Williamson himself has declared that he will "examine everything again and look at the evidence," with an eye to being able to offer a more complete apology for his remarks; all four bishops of SSPX sent a joint letter to the Holy Father, thanking him for the lifting of the excommunications; and SSPX has removed Bishop Williamson from his position as director of the Society's seminary in Argentina.
The Vatican has declared that, "In order to be readmitted to episcopal functions within the Church, Bishop Williamson must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his views concerning the Shoah, which were unknown to the Holy Father at the moment he lifted the excommunication." Should Bishop Williamson's reexamination of the evidence not lead to a change in his conclusions, he will never be permitted to exercise his faculties as a bishop in the Catholic Church, no matter what final canonical arrangement is made with SSPX.
Meanwhile, the bishops of Poland have congratulated the Holy Father for his "great courage and genuine pastoral charity," while one of his most adamant critics, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has spoken with Pope Benedict by telephone. After the discussion, a joint communiqué was issued by the director of the Holy See Press Office and the spokesman of the German Federal Republic, declaring, in the words of Rorate Caeli, "cased closed."
Of course, for those who dislike the Holy Father for other reasons, the case will never be closed. But the media will soon drop their coverage, because there is nothing more to be said. All that remains now is the final healing of the schism with SSPX, and for that, all people of good will should devoutly pray.
Scott,
I too am glad that this furor is waning, but I consider your characterization of those of us who were appalled by the lifting of Bishop Williamson’s excommunication without comment or caveat regarding his Holocaust denial, as being “not of good faith” to be offensive. Many of those who criticized the Vatican;s actions in this matter, were disturbed not by the Holy Father’s actions in initiating a reconcilliation with these schismatic bishops, but by the fact that Bishop Williamson is so out of step with the Holy Father’s own positions on the Holocaust and Catholic-Jewish relations.
I am heartened to see that SSPX has removed Bishop Williamson as rector of their seminary. And I hope that they heed the Holy Father’s call to end their schismastic positions, recognize the authority of not only our current Holy Father, but that of Blessed John XXII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II. It is not the Church which must change for the members of SSPX, it is the Society which must renounce its schismatic positions and return in obedience to the Church.
So, please let us ALL pray together that this and all schisms of the Church will end. But please do not characterize those of us who question occassionally as being “not of good faith.” I, for one, will give you the say courtesy.
Bless you.
Sandra, I’m not sure why you claim that I said that you (or anyone else, for that matter) are “not of good faith.” Twice you use that phrase in quotation marks, but I did not write that.
What I did write is that “Any person of good will, Catholic or otherwise, knows that Pope Benedict’s lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) had nothing to do with the Holocaust revisionist views apparently held by Bishop Williamson.” As far as I can tell, your comment doesn’t disagree with that; you just wish that some “comment or caveat” had been offered, which is an entirely reasonable position.
As I stated at the end of the article, “for those who dislike the Holy Father for other reasons, the case will never be closed,” and I stand by that comment. But clearly, Sandra, I did not have people such as you in mind when I wrote that. You have expressed no dislike of the Holy Father, simply disagreement with the manner in which he carried out this action.
Dear Scott,
When push comes to shove, I wonder where Williamson will go when he is pressured to renounce his crazy Holocaust views.
And when he is no longer allowed to exercise his episcopal powers, do you suppose he will look around for another schismatic group to join? There seem to be plenty of them including one in Rockford, IL.
Your opinion?
Michael, I may be naive, but I am still hopeful that, when push comes to shove, Bishop Williamson will do the right thing. A few weeks ago, as I’ve mentioned before, I did not expect him to join the other bishops of SSPX in asking for the removal of the excommunications. We must always trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to move men’s hearts.
If, God forbid, he makes a full break with the Church, then I don’t think he will have to look around for another group to join. More likely, he will cause a split within SSPX itself.
of all people for the Church to be chasing after…. I say let the women priests in first before we waste our time with holocaust deniers…..
“……….”: Next time, please leave a name on your comment, or I’ll simply delete it.
Now, as for the substance: The Holy Father is not “chasing after” Holocaust deniers; he is trying to reconcile a society of traditionalist Catholics who number somewhere around a million strong. If you cannot understand the importance of healing rifts in the Body of Christ, then you’ll never understand why he is attempting this.