The Vatican has rejected an apology by a British bishop who denied the full extent of the Holocaust.
It said the bishop needed to “unequivocally and publicly” withdraw his comments.
Earlier, Jewish leaders said the bishop had failed to address the issue of whether he believed that the Holocaust was a lie.
Richard Williamson said if he had known the full harm his comments would cause, he would not have made them.
‘Ambiguous’ apology
The bishop said that his opinions had been formed “20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available”.
But Vatican spokesman Rev Federico Lombardi said the bishop “does not seem to respect the conditions” it set after he had made the comments.
Meanwhile Renzo Gattegna, the president of Italy’s Jewish Communities, described the apology as “absolutely ambiguous”.
Perhaps if the Catholic Church had been this vigorous during the period of African slavery, history might have been different. But then again, the current Jewish/Catholic argument is mainly over a definition – made to look like what it wasn’t.
The plight of Hamas ought to be worthy of such a display of CONCERN.
But then again, learning to quietly co-exist with the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY is a worthy self-preservation cause – RIGHT?
