BISHOP WILLIAMSON'S NEW STATEMENTS CONFIRM HE IS UNWORTHY OF ANY ROLE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

February 12, 2009

BISHOP WILLIAMSON'S NEW STATEMENTS CONFIRM HE IS UNWORTHY OF ANY ROLE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

"Bishop Richard Williamson's new interview in Der Speigel confirms that he is an unrepentant anti-Semite who should have no place in the Catholic Church.  His hatred of Judaism, his rejection of the teachings of Vatican II, his refusal to visit Auschwitz  to personally confront his Holocaust denial, shows that the Church was right to remove him  as the head of a Catholic seminary and should bar him from any future position in the Church," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center's associate dean.

About the Holocaust, Williamson told Der Speigel that, "Throughout my life, I have always sought the truth...Because I realize that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must now review the historical evidence once again. I said the same thing in my interview with Swedish television: Historical evidence is at issue, not emotions. And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time." He added that he ordered a book by Jean-Claude Pressac: 'Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers,'  but insisted he would not visit the site of the death camp. Said Rabbis Hier and Cooper:  "What a shame. Williamson has nothing to lose by touring Auschwitz but the lies he currently believes."

When challenged directly that his "... position on Judaism is consistently anti-Semitic", Williamson responded:" St. Paul put it this way: The Jews are beloved for the sake of Our Father, but our enemies for the sake of the gospel."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States.  It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

For more information, contact the Center's Public Relations department, 310-553-9036.