Waxing Poetically: Addressing Culture with a Twist of Poetry

Photo of Bishop Williamson by Huffington Post

In the course of human events, in those times when history is etched and colored into the minds of a people, it is always hoped by that people that those making the plans, drawing the blueprints and thus shaping the surrounding culture take great care in preserving and extending a noteworthy sense of prudence and morality. In simpler terms, a community always hopes that those who are in charge realize the tremendous responsibility they hold in their hands and that they know the weighted effects of every decision they make. With this said, I fear that certain public trust and moral integrity was not only breached but rather severely wounded as a result of the actions of one man in particular, Pope Benedict XVI when he reinstated Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson this past Saturday.

The Pope lifted the 1988 excommunications of four Bishops whose ordinations by a French traditionalist sect known as the Society of St. Pius X were unapproved for the by the Vatican The ordinations were unapproved for the sects noted rejection of the modern reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the late 1960s which include for instance, the outright rejection the translation of the mass into English, and a questioning of the acceptance of a belief in religious liberty and separation of church and state as being a inevitable part of a pluralistic society. Instead, the Society believes that the true mass is to be said exclusively in Latin and that the doctrine of religious liberty should be replaced by a practice of “religious toleration” in which a primary religious body would permit another faith to worship with consent of first. But none of these has caused more anger and disappointment than than the fact of Bishop Williamson’s Holocaust denial. Swedish television quoted him just last week as saying, “[The historical evidence] is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed.” He continues later to opine, “If anti-Semitism is bad, it’s against truth. If something is true, it’s not bad [in itself simply because it’s true]. Truth or no Holocaust denial is a national crime in Germany and even if Williamson’s claims were proven, he appears in his interview to be emotionally apathetic to the pain the Jewish people have endured as a result of Adolf Hitler policies. The UK’s Times Online has gone on to quote one Vatican official that the Church will “pay a price” for having angered so many people sensitive to the subject while other officials have stated Williamson’s views not to be their own in any way.

There is a conscience-crippling shame that I feel I bear today with a great many Catholics with the reinstatement of “Bishop” Williamson. I can only pray that the Pope’s reinstatement was one that simply overlooked the devastating effects it would have on Jews worldwide. I plead with Pope Benedict’s innermost Holy Father that he speak out against his own tragic mistake if not only for the Church, but also in the combined names of all of humanity and those lost to the Holocaust. He also, most obviously must consult his heart in the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace whom he has pledged to serve with all of his being. Amen.

Wax in the name of respect for human life.

Lead Sources:

Video and Text: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/24/bishop-richard-williamson_n_160598.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5585738.ece

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99855373&ft=1&f=1001

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_tolerance

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