The media in Germany has been dominated, in the past week, by the controversy arising as a result of the lifting of the excommunications of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (originally imposed following their illicit consecrations by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988) on January 21st. The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is a traditionalist fringe group with origins in the Catholic tradition, which rejects large sections of the modification in teaching and liturgy promulgated by the Second Vatical Council.
On the same day, Swedish TV aired an interview with Richard Williamson, one of the four, in which he denied the Shoah, stating, “I believe there were no gas chambers ... I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps ... but none of them by gas chambers.” The excrement impacted with the ventilator. The indignation and criticism in Germany (which, as a result of the Nazi area, sees itself as having an abiding responsiblity to the victims of the Holocaust) reached such a level that Chancellor Merkel publicly criticised the German-born pope, Josef Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, concerning his decision. This has provoked a reaction by many (mostly conservative) Catholics about inappropriate political interference in internal Church matters. For those interested in more background the following links may be helpful: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605714,00.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Saint_Pius_X The issue raises some interesting questions, particularly in the area of relations between the state/public society, and religions/churches, as well as issues within the Catholic tradition. I would be particularly interested in reading comments from Catholic and Jewish members of our group. Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
