Holocaust-Denying Bishop Won't Change Mind Until He Sees Evidence

Richard Williamson, the Holocaust-denying Bishop, was asked by the Vatican to recant his denial, but he refused to do so until he reviewed the evidence himself.

On Wednesday, the Vatican wanted Williamson to recant his denial before he can be admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church. Williamson had previously stated that he did not believe any Jews were gassed during the Holocaust. And he said only 300,000 to 400,000 Jews had died during the World War II. After the Vatican lifted the excommunication and reinstated him last month, many from the Jewish community and families of Holocaust victims were outraged by the pope’s decision. The Vatican has demanded Williamson to recant his denial before they can include him into their fold. But according to a German magazine, Der Spiegel, Bishop Williamson will not recant until he reviews the evidences, which he said will take some time. Der Spiegel reported that Williamson has made it clear that he does not plan to comply with Vatican immediately and also refused to visit the Auschwitz, where millions of Jews were gassed to death. Williamson told Der Spiegel:

"Since I see that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must look again at the historical evidence...It is about historical evidence, not about emotions. And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time."

Der Spiegel sent questions to Williamson in Argentina by fax and got the responses back by email. Williamson earlier apologized about his comments in his blog but didn’t recant his Holocaust comments. Regarding the comments, Williamson told Der Spiegel:

"I was convinced that my comments were right on the basis of my research in the '80s...I must now examine everything again and look at the evidence."