What the next Papacy will mean for the SSPX

Early contact with the new Pope
The relationship between Church and the SSPX is one of the points that are open after Benedict's resignation, as ever. If, under the new Pope will reintegration - or the final break be completed?

Benedict XVI wanted no longer to take in his last days in office any serious decision. The possible reconciliation with the breakaway in 1988 of followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre is therefore one of the issues that must be addressed by the new Pope.

The SSPX rejects a series of reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Contentious issues are especially liturgy, ecumenism and religious freedom. The founder of the SSPX, the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991) completed the break with Rome by ordaining of bishops against the wishes of the Pope. In an effort to reach an agreement, Benedict XVI in 2007 allowed again the Tridentine Mass, the sole form up to the Council. In 2009, he lifted the excommunication against the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre. This was followed by a dialogue between experts from the Vatican and the SSPX - so far not resulting in agreement.

"A Pope, who returns the Faith to her primacy in the Church"
Franz Schmidberger, head of the German district and one of the principal leaders of the SSPX, announced that the SSPX would "make contact at a very early stage with the new Pope, and lay out for him their concerns about the 2,000-year tradition of the Church.

Traditionalists wanted "A Pope, who returns the Faith to her primacy in the Church, give further space to the traditional liturgy which expresses this Faith and seeks out of this Faith renewal in Christ." What this means exactly for the progress of the talks remains to be seen. The only certainty is that the SSPX in the coming weeks looks to Rome, waiting for the white smoke. Perhaps the question of dealing with the traditionalists is a standard by which the Cardinals from their midst will choose their new leader.

On the now finished pontificate, the SSPX looks back with mixed feelings: Schmidberger sees on the one hand "real bright spots." Such measures include the teaching documents, in which the traditional liturgy was upgraded. The remission of the excommunication - publicly linked with the scandal surrounding the Holocaust denier Richard Williamson - for Schmidberger was "an important moment in the truth." If the old liturgy was never actually banned, you could not hunt out of the Church those who wanted to hold on to it. And even choice of Papal name by Joseph Ratzinger, according to the German District Superior showed that after two popes, "who saw themselves as the trustees of the Counciliar Popes John XXIII and Paul VI", Benedict XVI has more in mind the heritage of the Christian West.

Schmidberger criticizes the appointment of Archbishop Müller
But Schmidberger also sees "a lot of suffering," that eventually would have had to press down on a "fine-feeling, educated man" like Benedict XVI. And he laments that Ratzinger had represented "no consistent, stringent line". "Lack of understanding" expresses the District Superior over the appointment of Gerhard Ludwig Müller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith. Müller had dealt intensively in his previous office as Bishop of Regensburg with the SSPX - and made little secret of his dislike.

But the beatification of Pope John Paul II and interreligious meeting in Assisi had little to do "with the charge of the dictatorship of relativism in the modern world" which Benedict XVI repeatedly formulated. And finally, the resignation, the Schmidberger criticized openly: in the final analysis Ratzinger "did not receive the Petrine ministry from the hands of the Cardinals, the only hold office, but from God himself, whose representative he is on earth."Consequently, only God himself could dismiss him from office by death. Perhaps for this assessment is supported by the concern that the talks with the future Pope could be more problematic than those with the one who has retired.

Source

Ultimatum to Bishop Williamson expires

News travels very quickly ... at the moment we learn of the existence of a new leak from Metzingen, namely about yet another private letter in which Bishop Fellay gives an ultimatum of ten days to Williamson, we also learn that the formalizing of the act of expulsion will not be delayed! Both pieces of news come from knowledgeable French and English members of traditionalist forums ... A high up bishop and Ignis Garden ... Now, everything is still to be officially confirmed ... New rifle butt against Bishop Fellay Williamson A new initiative of Bishop Fellay against Bishop Williamson risks causing the implosion of the SSPX. There is a new and explosive confidential letter which was sent by Bishop Fellay to Bishop Williamson. Source This letter was also sent in confidence District Superiors. In this very sententious long letter , the Superior of the SSPX announces he is acting on the exclusion by the General Chapter of Ecône. However, he says he may reconsider this decision, however, if Williamson finally closed down his site [note: the circular letter Eleison Comments] said nothing more, does nothing and sends a detailed letter of apology to having, by his attitude, caused confusion among the priests and faithful of the SSPX in criticizing the decisions of the Chapter. At no point in this long letter,does Bishop Fellay wonder about his own responsibility for the crisis that continues to shake the SSPX, or if this ultimatum does not exacerbate divisions within the SSPX of which he is in charge, at a time when the turmoil began to dissipate. Bishop Williamson is requested to act within 10 "working" days(these are the words!) Otherwise, he will be permanently excluded from the SSPX. This letter is authentic, its content was communicated to me a source which could not be safer! IT’S OFFICIAL! BP. WILLIAMSON HAS BEEN EXPELLED!!!!!! I JUST GOT WORD OF IT THIS MORNING. NOT A THIRD WARNING, BUT AN EXPULSION! LET’S MOVE ON. Source Everything remains to be verified in the next few minutes and hours ... Update 9:35 p.m.: The latest news: - The ten-day ultimatum issued by Bishop Fellay began Oct. 4. Today, we have reached the 15th ... - The act of expulsion is not yet formalized but it seems imminent, according to the news from His Excellency. Let us pray for our favorite bishop , the courageous Bishop Williamson ... Kyrie Eleison

The Williamson case goes on and on

OLG-Entscheidung im Fall Williamson steht aus - München - Bild.de:

The decision of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Nuremberg in the appeal by Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson will be further delayed. The files on the case have in the meantime been transferred from Regensburg to Nuremberg. Currently, the documents are before the competent judge, a court spokeswoman said on Tuesday. They will give a decision but it may take several weeks.

Bishop Williamson ordered to appear in German court

Williamson has been ordered to appear personally before the  Regensburg Local Court  on April 16,  according to a court spokesman this Wednesday. According to Williamson's lawyer, it  is not yet clear whether his client would actually come to Regensburg.

From Welt Online

Indictment of Bishop Williamson sought

Prosecutors seek summary fine

Regensburg, Germany - Richard Williamson, a British-born Catholic fundamentalist clergyman who has claimed the Nazis had no Holocaust gas chambers, may face a summary fine in Germany, a judge disclosed Thursday.

In Germany, denying the Holocaust is a hate crime. If Williamson accepts the fine as a penalty for sedition, he would not have to appear in court.

Johann Ploed, a judge in the city of Regensburg, declined to say what the penalty would be, but said, 'It would likely be a fine.' The prosecutors had applied Wednesday for the fine, but only judges can order it. They needed a week to review the case, he said.

Pope Benedict XVI repealed in January the excommunication of Williamson, who has been consecrated a bishop by his own Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). Williamson's anti-Holocaust remarks on German soil to a Swedish interviewer became public knowledge soon after.

Speaking late last year, Williamson, 69, alleged that the Nazi gas chambers had never existed, and 'only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews' had been killed by the Nazis. He was speaking at an SSPX seminary near Regensburg.

Williamson has said through his lawyer that he was assured his remarks would not be broadcast in Germany, but only in Sweden, a nation where there is no law against Holocaust denial.

A Munich newspaper, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, said the prosecutors had received a letter from the Swedish television producers in which they denied offering any assurance to Williamson that the interview, conducted in English, would be broadcast in Sweden only.

Presiding judge Ploed said that since Williamson does not live in Germany, any summary fine could be served on his attorney instead.

Williamson's remarks outraged many Catholics and Jews, and led to criticism of the Vatican reconciliation with the SSPX splinter group.

Historical research using population data suggests between 5 million and 6 million European Jews were killed by privation and violence during the Second World War. The Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem estimates it has names of up to 4 million.

They met their deaths in different ways. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were 'exterminated' with gas at Auschwitz death camp.

Letter from Father Lombardi, press spokeman to the Vatican, to Swedish TV

Dear Mr Fegan,
the only thing I can say is that I did not have any knowledge about your interview with Bishop Williamson before It was broadcasted. After that I was informed about it by journalists and Swedish colleagues of Vatican Radio.
Card. Castrillon said me no word about it before the interview was broadcasted.
I did not know that an information was sent about Williamson to the Vatican, and I do not know who has received it and red it. No one said me any word about it.
The Pope has said that he was not informed as he approuved the lifting of the excommunications. I am sure that the Pope tells the truth.
As I informed my Superiors about your interview with Williamson, I saw that the decision about the lifting of the excommunications was already done.
Therefore the only thing I could do, was to distinguish strongly between the sense and the intention of the decision of lifting the excommunication by the Pope, and the absolute inacceptability of the negationism of Williamson as his personal position which was not connected in any manner with the origin of the excommunication. This is what I have repeated many times in those sad days.
I hope that this answer is clear.
Thank you for your attention. Best regards.
F.Lombardi 

Published on the Swedish TV website

Interview with Bishop Williamson no secret to Vatican ????

Uppdrag granskning reveals that the Vatican was, in fact, aware of the now world-famous interview with Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson when the decision to lift the excommunication was made - despite prior statements to the contrary.

Contact

The interview with then-excommunicated Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Catholic traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (the SSPX), aired on Swedish TV in the investigative journalism program Uppdrag granskning in January 2009, sparked off the most serious crisis between Jews and Catholics seen in recent times.

In the interview, Bishop Williamson denied that the Holocaust had taken place. "I believe there were no gas chambers," is one of many statements on the subject.

Only three days later, the Pope's and the Vatican's decision to lift the 20-year-long excommunication of the bishop was announced, sending shock waves throughout the world.

Israel reacted by demanding that all diplomatic ties with the Vatican be severed, congressmen in the US sent letters of protest to the Pope, and ministers in several European countries openly criticized the Vatican's pardon.

The Vatican has maintained that they had no knowledge of the interview with Richard Williamson when the decision to lift the excommunication was made.

Uppdrag granskning is now able to reveal that the Vatican was, in fact, aware of Williamson's statements well before the decision was made, and that one of the Pope's closest associates, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos had been informed.

The information was included in an internal report written by the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden, as early as November 2008, not long after Uppdrag granskning had interviewed Williamson in Germany. The report includes remarks made by Richard Williamson expressing his view that the Holocaust never took place, and that statements to that effect are a criminal offense in Germany.

The Catholic Diocese of Stockholm asserts that this report was passed on to the Vatican's emissary in Stockholm. According to Bishop Anders Arborelius of the Swedish Catholic Church,

"He (the Papal representative) was very troubled and he attempted to send the report on to Rome."

The Papal representative has declined to be interviewed, but has confirmed that he immediately passed the report on. In addition to this, he also contacted a number of officials at the Vatican - including Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, who, along with the Pope, has denied all knowledge of the TV interview.

For eight years, Cardinal Hoyos was the Pope?s closest associate in the negotiations with the SSPX. The cardinal is presently 8o years old and is now retired.

The Vatican continues to maintain that the Pope had no knowledge of the events. In an e-mail sent to Uppdrag granskning, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi ensures us that he is: "certain the Pope is telling the truth."

Bishop Williamson allegedly criticises Motu Proprio.

From Radio Vatican German service.

The majority of the Lefebvristes are against an agreement with the Pope. So said Richard Williamson, the controversial bishop of the SSPX. As the Italian daily La Stampa quoted him, the recent motu proprio is a 'poisoned cake ". The declaration of the Pope should be thrown in the bin, according tp Williamson. - On Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI had prohibited further acts of the SSPX such as the ordinations to the priesthood in Zaitzkofen. In the letter, the Pope united the "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, who is responsible for the SSPX, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. With the new papal decree Benedict XVI has created the canon law structure for SSPX dialogue with the Vatican. The motu proprio of the Pope is entitled with his Latin words which begin the document "Ecclesiae unitatem "(The Unity of the Church).

Radio Vatican has, apparently got this wrong- remarks taken out of context from this interview

Cardinal Meisner hits out at German Chancellor

Cardinal Joachim Meisner makes sharp criticism of Chancellor Merkel

Tempers may have already calmed down, but Cardinal Joachim Meisner is fueling the controversy over criticism of the Pope by the Chancellor in the case of Holocaust denier Richard Williamson. In an interview, he criticized Angela Merkel's scolding as the "biggest blunder" and urged her to apologise to Pope Bendedict XVI.

The Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner insists on an apology from Merkel.

The background is the public criticism of Merkel about the rehabilitation of Holocaust deniers Richard Williamson. "I can only say: display substance and apologise, Madam Chancellor," Meisner told the "Bild"-Zeitung.

What is happening with the Pope?

At the beginning of February Merkel publicly requested clarification from the Pope. Meisner says that he found the public scolding the Pope to have been "one of the biggest mistakes". The tone was totally unreasonable. He knew of many Catholics and Protestants who are leaving the CDU for this reason. The Chancellor was obviously not informed by her employees that the requested clarification had been made by the Pope one week earlier.

Merkel had unusually harshly criticized Benedict XVI in the debate about dealing with the Holocaust and asked for a clarification. The Pope must "very clearly" declare that he does not accept denial of the Holocaust, and that there must be "a positive dealing with Judaism ... as a whole", she said. The Pope had repealed the excommunication of Holocaust deniers Richard Williamson, and thus a storm of outrage in their own church is triggered.

"This carping at the Pope makes us ridiculous all over the world "
The cardinal stressed that contrary to widespread opinion, the Pope had not rehabilitated Williamson as a Holocaust denier." "The Pope knew nothing of the unspeakable utterances of Bishop Williamson. And the lifting of excommunication is not a rehabilitation. Certainly at times one can make mistakes. There were breakdowns in the Vatican," he said. But the Chancellor had made a mistake. On the particular criticism of a German Pope from Germany Meisner commented with the words: "Many Germans do not realise how ridiculous this carping at the Pope makes us all over the world."

In haste prior to taking my wife to hospital- more soon.

PS

Chancellor's office said she won't be apologising. Temperatures are rising in Germany- and it is not caused by global warming!

Archbishop of Paris on Williamson Affair

kathweb Nachrichten .:. Katholische Presseagentur Österreich

The "Causa Williamson" which emerged In the course of lifting the excommunication of the four SSPX bishops has caused "great suffering" - and "not only among our Jewish brethren, but also with many Catholics" said the Paris archbishop, Cardinal Andre Vingt - Trois, at the opening of a French Holocaust exhibition at the New York Museum of Jewish Heritage (MJH). Bishops from various countries attended the opening.

To be a Catholic Christian, "is radically inconsistent with the denial of the Holocaust," said Vingt-Trois. It was shocking for Richard Williamson to abuse his authority as a bishop " to
spread a historical lie."

Vingt-Trois and the head of the French Christian-Jewish reconciliation Foundation Yahad - In Unum, Abbe Patrick Desbois, in MJH opened the exhibition on the exploration of the Holocaust in Ukraine, the so-called "Holocaust using bullets. " Desbois undertook pioneering work in this area when he and his trained team located more than 800 mass graves of Jewish people in the Ukraine of people the Germans had murdered between 1941 and 1944. Cardinal Vingt-Trois is the president of "Yahad - In Unum" which Abbe Desbois founded in 2004. For his actions, Desbois was awared the Jan Karski Award in 2007 by the American Jewish Committee.

The task of "Yahad - In Unum" is to better document the mass murder of the Jewish population in the Ukraine and Belarus from 1941 to 1944. Ukrainian witnesses will asked about each case of mass shootings and located mass graves, of which by Desbois' own rating there are at least 1200 in the Ukraine.

Leader of European liberals opposes Williamson extradition

Watson: Auslieferung von Williamson ohne Sinn - Nachrichten - domradio.de

Watson: Extradition of Williamson makes no sense
The chairman of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, Graham Watson, is opposed to extradition of the British Holocaust denier Williamson.to Germany. Such an extradition was not appropriate and not desirable, Watson said to the Catholic News Agency (KNA) in Strasbourg. Legally, the extradition of the traditional bishop is possible, however, if Germany seeks it. Britain voted for the introduction of the European arrest warrant waived the possibility of applying it only in those cases in which a crime in both countries is punishable by law. Watson indicated that Britain in the wake of the implementation of EU law may soon Holocaust denial is punishable.

Liberal Democrats on an earlier case.

Elmar Brok MEP from the German Christian Democrats is for an examination of the possibility of a European arrest warrant being issued by the German courts.

Holocaust-denier Bishop Williamson will fight any German extradition"

from Monsters and Critics.

He is using the lawyer recommended by Michele Renouf.

Home Office- no comment on whether they would support extradition

The downfall of a Bishop - Telegraph

Prosecution of Bishop Williamson almost inevitable following statement of Bavarian Justice Minister

Justiz in Bayern - Ministerium - Pressemitteilung 34/09

Justice Minister Beate Merk:
"Bavarian Prosecutor investigates Williamson" / Holocaust denial a criminal offense in Germany

In the debate about the criminal responsibility of the Holocaust denier Williamson Bavarian Justice Minister Dr. Beate Merk explains: "Those who, like Williamson deny the terrible and manifest mass murder of Jews during the Nazi era, not debate about a historical fact. He also deeply violated the dignity of the victims. " Germany cannot accept such behavior, given its historical responsibility, under any circumstances and must emphatically oppose him. Therefore, under German law, the denial of the Holocaust as a violation of humanity has for a long time been punished with imprisonment up to 5 years imprisonment or a fine if done publicly in a manner which is likely to disturb the public peace. The Regensburg Prosecutors Office have been conducting an inquiry since early February into the Williamson statements on a Swedish television channel, to determine whether these conditions are met.

Frau Merk like any good conservative believes in protecting the victim rather than the perpetrator

and thinks that true justice is an advantage for any geographical location. Cathcon suspects that she sees herself as the first female Minister President of Bavaria.

German Justice Minister has also spoken on Bishop Williamson