A few days ago, I was watching The Daily Show and came across an interesting little tidbit of news about a bishop named Richard Williamson who recently had his excommunication lifted. In 1988, Williamson was improperly consecrated according to papal law and got the boot. ("Consecrate" is a special manner of sanctifying a member of the Church. Apparently the title of "bishop" alone is only a purple-belt in God's eyes.) Williamson was just recently reinstated by Pope Benedict XVI. As only divine providence could have ordained it, on the very same day he was welcomed back into the fold, a prior interview with Williamson for Swedish Television aired, depicting his views denying the existence of gas chambers in the concentration camps of the Nazi-Holocaust. Below is a video clip of that interview.
To call Bishop Richard Williamson a "holocaust denier" is not entirely true. He does not claim the event to be a complete fabrication, but rather an exaggeration. However, the validity of the bishop's claims more or less fall apart when he cites the "Leuchter report" and equates it with scientific fact. The aforementioned report has been deemed pseudoscientific by experts. Look it up on Wikipedia to get a better idea of this bogusness.
The clergy of the Church was, to summarize, non supportive of the newly reinstated bishop's remarks, using words like "unfounded and unjustified," as well as "offensive and erroneous" in reaction to them. Yet, the reinstatement was not withheld, leaving many in outrage or at least scratching their heads. Monsignor Robert Wister, professor of church history, best articulates the issue at hand: "To deny the Holocaust is not a heresy even though it is a lie. The excommunication can be lifted because he is not a heretic, but he remains a liar."
Facts and truths. Who knew they were so complicated? I am tempted to get into an lengthy analysis of this conflict between Catholic doctrine and historical fact, but there does not seem to be much of a point. Both the words of Williamson and the clergy are self-evident. They establish the wall between secular and faith/religion based truths, with the Church obviously valuing the latter over the former.
As an someone who rides the fence between the atheist and the agnostic, I find this complete disregard of rational thought frightening. It's not that I expect the Roman Catholic Church to act in accordance to logic; all religions and faiths are based on foundations beyond reason. But to brush off a member's ignorance towards such acts of barbarity as documented in Auschwitz and Majdanek is disgusting.
The phrase "never again" is often used to signify a hope that the atrocities of the Holocaust will not be repeated. But now I think it's also applicable to Richard Williamson and the Church.
Facts and truths. Who knew they were so complicated? I am tempted to get into an lengthy analysis of this conflict between Catholic doctrine and historical fact, but there does not seem to be much of a point. Both the words of Williamson and the clergy are self-evident. They establish the wall between secular and faith/religion based truths, with the Church obviously valuing the latter over the former.
As an someone who rides the fence between the atheist and the agnostic, I find this complete disregard of rational thought frightening. It's not that I expect the Roman Catholic Church to act in accordance to logic; all religions and faiths are based on foundations beyond reason. But to brush off a member's ignorance towards such acts of barbarity as documented in Auschwitz and Majdanek is disgusting.
The phrase "never again" is often used to signify a hope that the atrocities of the Holocaust will not be repeated. But now I think it's also applicable to Richard Williamson and the Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment