Schismatic Bishop Faces Trial Over Holocaust Denial

By Niels Sorrells
Religion News Service

BERLIN (RNS) The case of an outspoken schismatic bishop headed back to court on Monday (July 4), with lawyers for British Bishop Richard Williamson saying he shouldn't be punished for downplaying the severity of the Holocaust.

Williamson, 71, was convicted last year after he told a Swedish broadcast team in 2008 that "no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps ... not one of them by gassing in a gas chamber."

Denying the full scope of the Holocaust is a crime under German law, and although the interview was with a Swedish news outlet, Williamson made the statements in Germany, where it eventually became viewable online.

A Regensburg court fined Williamson 10,000 euros ($14,500) in the case last year. A decision on his appeal is expected by Monday (July 11).

Williamson became an overnight celebrity -- and a deep embarrassment for the Vatican -- for his Holocaust denials after Pope Benedict XVI lifted the 1988 excommunication of Williamson and three other SSPX bishops.

The Vatican later said the pope did not know about Williamson's views on the Holocaust at the time, but conceded that "closely following the news available on the Internet" would have flagged his troublesome statements.

Williamson, who did not appear at the appeals court, claimed through his attorneys that he should not be liable for the breach of German law, since he gave the interview to a Swedish film crew with the understanding that the segment would only be aired in Sweden.

"Our client did not put it on the (Internet)," said his attorneys, as quoted by the German Press Agency dpa.

Fellow members of his schismatic Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), meanwhile, seemed determined to distance themselves from Williamson and his remarks.

According to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, associates of SSPX -- which generally rejects the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s -- said Williamson had a long history of being out of touch with reality. Maximilian Krah, legal representative of the group, said Williamson was eccentric and had problems with reality.

The issue continues to reverberate in German society, especially since SSPX again made headlines just before the appeal trial's start with the ordination of some 20 priests without the Vatican's permission.

Benedict lifted the excommunications in a bid to restore relations with the traditionalist groups, but has insisted SSPX accept all reforms from Vatican II if they want to have normalized relations with Rome.

Comments

[Faurisson]

08:53 PM on 07/09/2011

"no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps ... not one of them by gassing in a gas chamber."

Sounds about right.

[arkymorgan]

07:45 PM on 07/09/2011

The Vatican: We're clueless, in constant denial and never learn from our mistakes. But you should still do what we say.

[Jc Pressac]

04:44 AM on 07/09/2011

Visit the Holocaust Museum www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143

[Jc Pressac]

11:05 AM on 07/09/2011

Yikes, forgot to mention:
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/02/what-does-holocaust-denial-really-mean/

[horseguards]

05:08 PM on 07/07/2011

Isn't it ironic that after the war, many key players (scientists) of the atrocity ended up with nice research facilities in the US, Russia, Europe?

In other words, it is illegal to deny the Holocaust but it's OK to benefit from the expertise derived thereof. Do as we say, not as we do.

[cuniverse]

03:45 PM on 07/07/2011

Why should the German Peoples alone carry the Burdon of one of the worlds numerous Holocausts? The peoples who exterminate None European peoples and stole their properties from numerous parts the world is not being held accountable for their Holocaust why? Are Jewish peoples more valuable than None Europeans?

[ThinkCreeps]

03:20 PM on 07/07/2011

Someone who makes the pope look positively sane. Throw away the key.

[Jc Pressac]

02:42 PM on 07/07/2011

Kevin Myers of the Irish newspaper Independent writes sometimes about Williamson:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/im-a-holocaust-denier-but-i-also-believe-the-nazis-planned-the-extermination-of-the-jewish-people-1660201.html

[kensp]

11:39 AM on 07/07/2011

Holocaust denial. The original far right conspiracy theory.

[Want2knowY]

09:55 AM on 07/07/2011

Williamson is not the only one playing the denial game. A few days ago, the Vice Chair of Egypt's largest secular party got into the game too, calling the Holocaust and Anne Frank's diary fabrications. Guess denial really isn't "just a river in Egypt".

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/top-egyptian-politician-calls-holocaust-9-11-fabrications-1.371820

[Felixio]

12:19 AM on 07/07/2011

Were is freedom of speech, amazing that somebody can go to jail for his believes, I guess we have to thank Jews for this one. What about people that love Stalin? should they go to jail?

[horseguards]

05:18 AM on 07/07/2011

Felixio,

There are many in Russia who are nostalgic for Stalin, and it is not a crime.

Obviously, some countries - Germany, Austria - think banning expression of "different" views will terminate such beliefs. I say it will cause many to go underground, and worse, adherents will not be apparent. Therefore, the problem only seemingly disappears. Some governments obviously consider their citizens to be cretins incapable of rational thought.

[ChicagoBob]

01:51 AM on 07/08/2011

The laws Germany has enacted regarding the Holocaust exist because Germany took responsibility for the atrocities they committed, and because they believe that admitting and telling the truth about it is the best way to prevent such things from happening again.

[Felixio]

09:38 AM on 07/08/2011

To me that is not democratic.Thank for your blog.

[Catothemuchyounger]

11:53 PM on 07/06/2011

Yet more evidence that, outside of the USA, freedom of speech is hard to find.

[horseguards]

05:32 AM on 07/07/2011

Cato,

Sure, but in the US you will be noted for future reference by the CIA, FBI, NSA, et al, just in case. OK, let's be realistic; it happens everywhere, doesn't it?

[Catothemuchyounger]

10:53 PM on 07/07/2011

No, I don't think so. What is happening in this case in Germany does not happen here. If the Government were to bring someone up on charges involving expression of unpopular opinions, even dangerous, pernicious opinions, the Court would throw out the charge.

My recollection is that in Canada a comic was fined a couple years back for jokes that were deemed offensive. Jokes!

We are very far from perfect, but I do believe we have the strongest protections for speech of any nation in the world.

[Feurio]

04:32 PM on 07/06/2011

Thoughtcrime. Super!

[Catothemuchyounger]

11:53 PM on 07/06/2011

Exactly. Scary.

[ThinkCreeps]

03:24 PM on 07/07/2011

Speech crime in fact. Incitement. Throw the keys away.

[myopinion2]

01:59 PM on 07/06/2011

Ever hear of anti-Semitism? Holocausrt denial is anti-Semitism that seeks to call Jews liars and false accusers and stir up European resentment against them -- so perhaps there can be a new Holocaust in the future.

[horseguards]

05:22 AM on 07/07/2011

Myopinion,

Anti-Semitism will exist regardless of Holocaust denial. Will those who have hitherto accepted the Holocaust be persuaded otherwise? Of course not.

[ThinkCreeps]

03:25 PM on 07/07/2011

They'll at least has an opportunity to consider some of his absurd beliefs in a quiet little room. He might grow out of some of his strange ideas.

[A-Superstitionist]

01:37 PM on 07/06/2011

We live in a world where the vast majority have been indoctrinated as children into accepting that believing what is not supported by any verifiable/falsifiable evidence is a virtue.

Once the brain has been poisoned to be convinced that there are truths without evidence it is just a small step to also be convinced that somethings are false despite overwhelming evidence.

We should not be surprised.

Claiming that the holocaust did not happen makes as much sense as claiming that gods exist or that the christian god is the true god.

Both are equally embarrassing to people who value reason.

[Dragosurfer]

12:56 PM on 07/06/2011

The article said: “Williamson became an overnight celebrity -- and a deep embarrassment for the Vatican”.

We can just add this to the long, long list of embarrassments for the Vatican just in the last 100 years like: The molestation of 25,000+ children; covering up the molestation of children and allowing it to continue unchecked decade after decade; calibrating with the Nazis during WWII; Telling people in AIDS ridden countries not to use condoms, telling people in extreme poverty not to use birth control or family planning; Spending money on anti-gay propaganda rather than spending that money to help the poor.

Is there anything that the Vatican Can be proud of (except their bank account that is)?

[ThinkCreeps]

03:27 PM on 07/07/2011

He's going to have to wait in line to register as a deep embarrassment.

With a hitlerjugend for a CEO, there's surely a certain amount of latitude for such ideas in the ranks.