The Mobile Press-Register [4-17-10] carries an AP wire story which has a very unfortunate (because inaccurate) innuendo. It is short enough, but I will still excerpt it, to get to the heart of the issue. It concerns schismatic bishop Richard Williamson and his denial of the Holocaust. As this is a crime in Germany, Bp. Williamson was convicted and fined €10,000 (or about $13,500). The article continues:
The Roman Catholic bishop was barred by his order from attending Friday’s proceedings or making statements to the media.
Let me clarify. First of all, to call him a “Roman Catholic bishop” implies he is in full good standing in the Catholic Church, and this is simply false. Bans of excommunication have been lifted from him and three other schismatic bishops, but they are still affiliated with a breakaway faction and are NOT in good standing, nor are they permitted to exercise a priestly or episcopal office in the Catholic Church.
Secondly, he is not a member of an “order” (which suggests his group is no different from, say, the Jesuits or Franciscans or Dominicans). He is a member (to repeat the word yet again) of a body that is in schism from the Catholic Church.
In point of fact, one of the issues that has led to this situation is precisely the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jews. Vatican II is strongly positive of the Jews as a community of faith (our “older brothers and sisters”); such an attitude is rejected out of hand by the ultra-conservative “Society of St. Pius X” of which Williamson is a member; it is one reason why this group split away.
The Catholic Church has enough issues to suffer through and deal with right now that are real; the Church does not need the publication of misleading statements that encourage false conclusions.
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Thank you for clarifying the article in the Press Register concerning the schismatic Bishop Richard Williamson. I read the article and felt confused since I had only a vague understanding of the processes of the church hierarchy and his present status. The ecumenical efforts between Catholics and the Jewish community were disturbed for a while
ReplyDeletebecause Bishop Williamson was not punished more severely. Many times Christ's message of forgiveness is misunderstood -- it is a difficult task to emulate.
I have come to understand and accept (through you, Fr. David) that it was in deed our sins that crucified Jesus.. (my own conclusion follows), but at the hands of the Jews, our eldest brothers and sisters...
ReplyDeleteChristians and Jews will need to unite to fight the scourge of evil staring us right in the face...perhaps together as a people (s) of God, we can stare down this evil that is before us,and together declare a clear and resounding NO, to socialism, jihad, moral decline, disobedience to the moral teaching/authority of our God....
Holy Is His Name....