Bishop who had denied Holocaust apologizes.

[panamania79 2]

ROME – A British bishop whose denial of the Holocaust embroiled Pope Benedict XVI in controversy has apologized for his remarks, a Catholic news agency said Thursday. Bishop Richard Williamson, with the conservative Society of St. Pius X, had faced worldwide criticism over a television interview in which he said no Jews were gassed during the Holocaust.

While Williamson apologized in a statement Thursday to all those who took offense and for the distress he caused, the bishop did not specifically say that his comments were erroneous, or that he no longer believed them.

"If I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them," Williamson was quoted as saying in the statement carried by the Zenit Catholic news agency.

Last month the pope, seeking to help heal a rift with ultra-traditionalists, lifted a 20-year-old excommunication decree imposed on Williamson and three other bishops who had been consecrated without Vatican approval.

The move immediately caused an uproar among Jewish groups. Benedict later condemned Williamson's remarks and spoke out against anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

"Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks," Williamson added, according to Zenit.

The agency quoted him as saying that to all that took offense, "before God I apologize."

It was not clear if the apology would satisfy the Vatican, which had demanded that he recant before being admitted to the church as a clergyman, or Jewish groups, which had expressed outrage.

The Vatican had no comment on the statement, said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

"The millions of Jews that were murdered in the Holocaust and the survivors who were persecuted are not waiting for his apology," said Iris Rosenberg, spokeswoman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. "If he is looking to repent, he needs to admit that he was wrong in denying the truth. This is much more important to the people he claims to lead."

In the interview broadcast Jan. 21 on Swedish state TV, Williamson said historical evidence indicates there were no Nazi gas chambers and that a maximum of 300,000 people died in concentration camps in the Holocaust.

Most historians believe about 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.

In his statement Thursday, Williamson said he was only giving the opinion of a "non-historian" during the Swedish TV interview. He said that opinion was "formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since."

However, he said, "the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused."

Williamson and three other traditionalist bishops were excommunicated in 1988 after being consecrated without papal consent by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Lefebvre founded the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X in 1969, opposed to the Vatican II reforms, including its outreach to Jews.

The society had already distanced itself from Williamson's views.

In earlier comments, Williamson had apologized to Benedict for having stirred the controversy but did not recant. Instead, he said he would correct himself if he were satisfied by the evidence, but insisted in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel that examining it "will take time."

Zenit said on its Web site that the statement was published upon Williamson's return to London on Wednesday. The bishop was expelled from Argentina, where he had been based, following the controversy.

The news agency said it had received the statement from the Vatican commission Ecclesia Dei, which was created to try to reconcile with Lefebvre's followers.

Calls to the commission went unanswered Thursday evening.

Read Full ArticleTurn OFF Expand/Collapse ArticleCollapse ArticleRelated Searches:bishop richard williamson Recommend 105 users recommend Buzz Up Send Email IM Share Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print More on Europe

Broke? Desperate? Scammers are looking for you Reuters Engine trouble possible cause in Dutch plane crash AP RBS posts biggest loss in British corporate history AFP More »

More...

World Video: More talks to come Reuters World Video: Dhaka mutiny ends Reuters

[Peikko 1,575]

Apologies without acknowledgment of wrong doing are hollow indeed. He, being a christian should know that. Idiot.

[Otto 83]

Pope was certainly in a pickle.. did you know denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany?

[panamania79 2]

Apologies without acknowledgment of wrong doing are hollow indeed. He, being a christian should know that. Idiot.

Apologies just don't cut it if you ask me.

[Peikko 1,575]

Pope was certainly in a pickle.. did you know denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany?

Yes, and the reasons why. It was a good law - even though it's an imposition on people's freedoms. That is NOT to say that I believe all Germans have 'nazi' tenancies - far from it, but I expect the German people are much more aware of the realities of the 2nd world war and the terrible things that happened than virtually any other the people of any other country in the world and are necessarily hesitant to start down a similar path ever again. Makes you think.

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

Pope was certainly in a pickle.. did you know denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany?

Edited February 27, 2009 by charles!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Apologies without acknowledgment of wrong doing are hollow indeed. He, being a christian should know that. Idiot.

I agree. It wasn't too long ago that he was saying that he hadn't seen any evidence to support the claim of the Holocaust, but that he would look into it. Look into it??? As if there aren't volumes of history books that have been written on the subject. To deny the Holocaust is to show a total disregard for historians and history books. The guy's a jacka$$.

[Danno 1,228]

Pope was certainly in a pickle.. did you know denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany?

Yes, and the reasons why. It was a good law - even though it's an imposition on people's freedoms. That is NOT to say that I believe all Germans have 'nazi' tenancies - far from it, but I expect the German people are much more aware of the realities of the 2nd world war and the terrible things that happened than virtually any other the people of any other country in the world and are necessarily hesitant to start down a similar path ever again. Makes you think.

While I could see a justification for such a law years ago, it seems to me it should have had some

sunset provision.

I believe laws like this make such movements more appealing to a certain segment and as we have seen in the news recently, a movement is growing.

If some real political party wanted to emulate the Principles which lead Hitler to power

, they could easily invent new symbols and names to go by.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Apologies without acknowledgment of wrong doing are hollow indeed. He, being a christian should know that. Idiot.

A little late.

[Peikko 1,575]

Pope was certainly in a pickle.. did you know denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany?

Yes, and the reasons why. It was a good law - even though it's an imposition on people's freedoms. That is NOT to say that I believe all Germans have 'nazi' tenancies - far from it, but I expect the German people are much more aware of the realities of the 2nd world war and the terrible things that happened than virtually any other the people of any other country in the world and are necessarily hesitant to start down a similar path ever again. Makes you think.

While I could see a justification for such a law years ago, it seems to me it should have had some

sunset provision.

I believe laws like this make such movements more appealing to a certain segment and as we have seen in the news recently, a movement is growing.

If some real political party wanted to emulate the Principles which lead Hitler to power

, they could easily invent new symbols and names to go by.

I say, what?

The laws in Germany are less about oppression and much more about education Danno. Holocaust denial is not quite the same as wanting to tattoo a swastika on your butt for laughs.

[I'm Gone 60]

He should have just said KMA. A person has a right to their opinion. So much for freedom of speech.

[JODO 2]

I'm sick of this guy. I was reading an article a few week ago about the resurgence of the Nazis in Germany. I like Angela Merkel, she seems nice.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Apologies without acknowledgment of wrong doing are hollow indeed. He, being a christian should know that. Idiot.

I agree. It wasn't too long ago that he was saying that he hadn't seen any evidence to support the claim of the Holocaust, but that he would look into it. Look into it??? As if there aren't volumes of history books that have been written on the subject. To deny the Holocaust is to show a total disregard for historians and history books. The guy's a jacka$$.

History books, video footage, artifacts such as thousands of shoes, still existing ovens and gas chambers with stains from the Zyclon b gas, plus a few people still around with numbers tattoed on their arms....