R i g h t a r d i a: Al Haaretz: Holocaust-denying bishop appeals large fine in Germany

The Roman Catholic Church collaborated with the Nazis during World War 2

An ultraconservative British bishop was fined 12,000 euro $16,822 in Germany for denying the Holocaust. He is appealing the fine, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Matthias Lossmann said that the bishop, Richard Williamson, objected to the fine, which means there will be a trial. A spokesman for the Regensburg court that issued the fine, Thomas Koch, said the court is currently examining the appeal, a routine procedure.

The court last month issued an order of punishment against Williamson for incitement, in connection with an interview that he gave to Swedish television in which he questioned that Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

The interview was conducted in the German city of Regensburg in November 2008. An order of punishment is a German legal tool that does not involve trial but is equivalent to a conviction if accepted by the defendant.

Williamson has told German media that he tried to prevent the interview from being broadcast in Germany, which could bolster his case if it goes to trial. Williamson was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1988 as a direct and immediate consequence of, his unauthorized consecration as a bishop by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The Holy See lifted the excommunication in January 2009. However, after reports accusing him of Holocaust denial attracted widespread media coverage, the Vatican declared that "in order to be admitted to episcopal functions within the Church, (he) will have to take his distance, in an absolutely unequivocal and public fashion, from his Holocaust position.

Wishing to heal the rift with traditionalist Catholics, Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications of the four bishops Lefebvre had consecrated. The decision stirred widespread outrage, particularly in Germany, where the interview was conducted and where Holocaust denial is illegal and punishable by imprisonment of up to five years.

On 4 February 2009, German prosecutors announced the launch of a criminal investigation into the statements.

Williamson sent the Pope a letter expressing his regret about the problems that he had caused, but did not retract his statements.

On 4 February 2009 the Vatican Secretariat of State issued a note stating that Williamson would have to distance himself unequivocally and publicly from the opinions that he had expressed before he would be permitted to act as a bishop within the Church.

Williamson responded that he would do so only after looking at the historical evidence for himself. On 26 February, he formally apologized for the offense that had been caused by his comments, but did not indicate that he had changed his views.

The Vatican rejected his apology, stating that he needed to "unequivocally and publicly" withdraw his comments.

Williamson was subsequently forbidden from speaking out publicly about historical or political matters.

Williamson was sacked as the head of the seminary of in La Reja, Argentina and Bishop Fellay stated said that if Williamson again denied the Holocaust, he would be excluded from the Society.

On February 19, 2009, the government of Argentina gave him 10 days to leave the country voluntarily or he would be expelled. Interior minister Florencio Randazzo said that the irregular presence in the country of someone who had "deeply offended Argentine society and humanity with anti-semitic statements" was "intolerable".

It is clear the Pope made a huge mistake of lifting the excommunication. The Pope is apparently not infallible.

The evidence is also overwhelming that Pius XII and Paul VI collaborated with Nazis before, during and after the Second World War. Even now the Vatican and Franciscan Order holds concentration camp loot at its repositories in Rome and Switzerland. See details at vaticanbankclaims.com

Dr. Jonathan Levy—South Carolina, United States