Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to rehabilitate four excommunicated bishops ”” including a Holocaust denier ”” has caused dismay among Jewish leaders. But the move also has shocked many Roman Catholics, who fear it may point to a repudiation of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.
Just days before the pope revoked the excommunication of the four bishops, one of them, Richard Williamson, again denied the Holocaust.
The NPR story was a bunch of garbage. There is no discussion of why the decision was made, only a discussion of a reaction to the decision, and then the Vatican’s reaction to the reaction. As another website constantly reminds us, the press doesn’t get religion.
For an review and discussion spun off the New York Times take on this story:
http://www.getreligion.org/?p=6640
There are lots of links and discussion of what the actual canonical situation is. Of course, the professionally aggrieved will do their job and the press will quote them, but if you look at comments #42 and 43 of the above thread, you will see that bringing the SSPX out of it’s isolation is already bearing good fruit.
You might also check out the blog round up at
http://amywelborn.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/your-move-2/
In fact, Amy Welborn has a whole series of good follow-ups that track this story.
#2 — Thank you for the links. It’s good to know a little bit more about the actual story, and not just what a generally hostile secular press thinks.
And many faithful believe the church of Benedict cares more about Christian unity with conservatives than seeking dialogue with progressive Catholics and other religions.
Maybe he does. He might have learned something by observing what happens to liberal churches. Benedict knows he will never lose his liberals, because liberals rarely leave their conservative churches. Conservatives will leave liberal churches.
This site is also very informative on the matter, and it didn’t seem that Amy Welborn included it:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/214086?eng=y