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Bishop Williamson convicted again after re-trial for denying Holocaust
January 16, 2013
Bishop Richard Williamson, the controversial traditionalist leader, has been fined €1,800 ($2,400) by a German court for his broadcast comments questioning the severity of the Holocaust.
In a Swedish radio interview that aired in 2008, Bishop Williamson voiced his doubts about the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust, and about the use of gas chambers. He was convicted in 2010 under a German law that prohibits denial of the Holocaust, but the conviction was overturned on procedural grounds. The case was retried, and the bishop has now been found guilty once again.
Bishop Williamson’s interview in 2008 drew worldwide attention because it was broadcast at the time when Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication on four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), including Bishop Williamson. He has subsequently been dismissed from the SSPX because of his persistent refusal to obey orders from his superiors.
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Further information:
- German court convicts Holocaust-denying bishop (AP)
- Bishop Williamson ousted from SSPX (CWN, 10/24/12)
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Posted by: demark8616 -
Jan. 17, 2013 1:37 AM ET USA
Despite what may be thought about freedom of speech - there is no freedom to inflict hurt or pain on others - as this obnoxious 'bishop' has done, and is being justly punished for. He is guilty of hurting many others too, including those who he has has dealings with, or had authority over when he was the rector of a seminary. This at many levels, both spiritual and material. There is a final judgement that he will not escape, nor which is open to dispute!
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Posted by: garedawg -
Jan. 17, 2013 12:35 AM ET USA
The SSPX must have paid its clergy pretty well, if Bishop Williamson could keep running his mouth and paying fines.
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Posted by: -
Jan. 16, 2013 6:08 PM ET USA
If people are allowed to publicly deny that God exists, why not allow denial of anything else in this world? Who sets the standards for what can be denied? In this case, denial of the numbers of Jews killed, denial of the gas chambers, what difference would it make?
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Posted by: Minnesota Mary -
Jan. 16, 2013 5:47 PM ET USA
I guess freedom of thought has no place in the brave new world we have entered. Imagine, being fined for not being politically correct! What's next? Prison?
