London – A news agency says that a British bishop who had denied the Holocaust has apologized for his remarks.
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Bishop Richard Williamson was shown in a Swedish state TV interview saying historical evidence indicates there were no Nazi gas chambers and that a maximum of 300,000 people died in concentration camps in the Holocaust.
The remarks caused widespread outrage.
Pope Benedict XVI had lifted a 20-year-old excommunication decree imposed on Williamson and three other bishops who had been consecrated without Vatican approval.
The Zenit Catholic news agency said that Williamson expressed regret for the statements.
It quoted him as saying that to all who took offense, “before God I apologize.”
”I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt they would create, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them,” he said.
Williamson says his comments were the ”opinion… of a non-historian” that was ”formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence available at the time, and rarely expressed in public since.
They will consider this incomplete. According to religious confession, it is not enough to say that you apologize for the effect of what you said on others. You must also confess that your words were a doctrinal error. This is exactly what happened with penitants at the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. Those who refused to confess that they erred against the Church doctrine were sent to burn at the stake.
That doesn’t sound like he recanted his views. It’s the “sorry if I offended you” non-apology.
He’s going to Hell with Hitler Y”S anyway, so let him say what he wants…..
for some reason, this apology does not seem real. Considering the Pope got involved in this issue this all is somewhat contrived and unreal.
This guy is so cooked by his Church that he’ll say anything at this point to get everyone off his back.
He only regrets that he made these statements in public but his opinions remain
intact. What could you expect from a person who interprets the horrors of the
holocaust as an “injustice” like somone discriminates against someone else.
He is sorry for the grief that it brought HIM, and as he says “especially the church”. There is no apology here…just selfish reflection on how is position has detriorated. Which adds up to further deeper insult. 20 years ago there was no evidence of 6,000,000 perishing? Jewish outrage should be conpounded.
if there was no such things as the gas chamber, as he says, lets take him to aushwitz and put him in the “room”and we’ll start the gas. lets see if he’ll die
“rarely expressed in public since” basically saying that he hasn’t changed his views or done any recent research even since the backlash. My how remorsefull! What a phony! Not enough evidence 20 years ago. He should stop viewing all the skinhead sights etc where they spew this stuff.
Who cares what he says or doesn’t say? Do you really think the Church gives a damn about 6 million dead Jews? They don’t care about any Jews, dead or alive.
Although they may care about one…Bernie the Ganif. But only if he ripped them off, too. Now we can all live with that!!
He’s not sorry, he’s just sorry he got caught with what he said!!!
What utter garbage – YEMACH SHEMOH.
This trash merely apologized for being stupid enough to state his opinion publicly and not in a sympathetic audience of other Nazi lovers. His statement about evidence is garbage because it hasn’t changed in 20 years.
What utter garbage – YEMACH SHEMOH.
This trash merely apologized for being stupid enough to state his opinion publicly and not in a sympathetic audience of other Nazi lovers. His statement about evidence is garbage because it hasn’t changed in 20 years.