German court fines British Holocaust-denying bishop
By Kirsten Grieshaber, APTuesday, October 27, 2009
German court fines Holocaust-denying bishop
BERLIN — An ultraconservative British bishop was fined $16,822 (€12,000) in Germany for denying the Holocaust in an interview with Swedish television, his lawyer said Tuesday.
A court in the Bavarian city of Regensburg issued the fine against Richard Williamson for incitement in connection with his Holocaust denial, Williamson’s lawyer Matthias Lossmann said.
“We received the order of punishment on Monday and my client has time until Nov. 9 to react to it,” Lossmann said. He gave no indication how Williamson would react.
An order of punishment is a German legal tool that involves no trial but is equivalent to a conviction if accepted by the defendant. If the defendant objects, it goes to trial.
The investigation of whether Williamson broke German laws against Holocaust denial was launched after the interview was aired earlier this year. In it, Williamson said he didn’t believe any Jews were killed in gas chambers during World War II.
The interview was conducted near Regensburg and was granted shortly before Williamson’s excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI, along with that of three other bishops from the anti-modernization movement of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
The lifting of Williamson’s excommunication sparked outrage among Jewish groups and in Israel. The Vatican’s handling of the affair prompted criticism from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Earlier this month, Williamson was quoted by the weekly Der Spiegel as saying he tried to have an injunction issued to block the interview’s release in Germany.
“I tried to … prevent my interview with Swedish television from being broadcast in Germany via the Internet,” Williamson was quoted as saying. He could use that argument should the case go to trial.
On Monday, Pope Benedict XVI met for talks with a delegation from Williamson’s traditionalist group, the Society of St. Pius X which split from Rome over the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly its outreach to Jews and Christians who were not Catholics.
Pope Benedict XVI’s effort to reconcile with the group is part of his overall aim of unifying the church and putting a highly conservative stamp on it.
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October 27, 2009: 10:40 am
Racism begins with our families, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, people we admire, respect and love. However, as we grow and mature we come to the realization that what we were told by our family when we were children were slanted lies base on their prejudices. We realize that most people are like ourselves and not so different and want the same things, like a home, steady work, a Medicare plan and schools for our children (if you travel you will see this). We realize that most people are of good hearts and goodwill. This reminds me of a parable from the good book where a Levite and Priest come upon a man who fell among thieves and they both individually passed by and didn’t stop to help him. Finally a man of another race came by, he got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy and got down with the injured man, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his fellow man. You see, the Levite and the Priest were afraid, they asked themselves, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” That’s the question before us. The question is not, “If I stop to help our fellow man (immigrant) in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help our fellow man, what will happen to him or her?” That’s the question. This current climate of blaming others for our woes is not new. We have had this before and we have conquered it. Remember “Evil flourishes when good men (and women) do nothing”. Raise your voices with those of us who believe we are equal and we can win this battle again. |
Paul