Holocaust-denier bishop gets silenced by Society of St Pius X - about time too.

Rorate Caeli reports:
Communiqué of the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X,
Bishop Bernard Fellay

It has come to our attention that Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of our Society, granted an interview to a Swedish network. In this interview, he also commented on historical issues, especially on the genocide of Jews by the National-Socialist regime. It is obvious that a bishop speaks with religious authority solely on matters of faith and morals. Our Society claims no authority over historical or other secular matters.
The mission of the Society is the offering and restoration of authentic Catholic teaching, as reflected in the traditional dogmas. We are known, accepted and appreciated worldwide for this.
We view this matter with great concern, as this exorbitance has caused severe damage to our religious mission. We apologize to the Holy Father and to all people of good will for the trouble it has caused.
It must remain clear that those comments do not reflect in any way the attitude of our community. That is why I have forbidden Bishop Williamson to issue any public opinion on any political or historical matter until further notice.
The constantly accusations against the Society have also apparently served the purpose of discrediting our mission. We will not allow this, but will continue to preach Catholic doctrine and to offer the Sacraments in the ancient rite.

Menzingen, January 27, 2009
+ Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General

As District Superior of the Society [of Saint Pius X] in Germany, I am very troubled by the words pronounced by Bishop Williamson here in this country.

The banalization of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime and of its horror are unacceptable for us.

The persecution and murder of an incalculable number of Jews under the Third Reich touches us painfully and they also violate the Christian commandment of love for neighbor which does not distinguish ethnicities.

I must apologize for this behavior and dissociate myself from such a view.

Such dissociation is also necessary for us because the father of Archbishop Lefebvre died in a KZ [concentration camp] and because numerous Catholic priests lost their lives in Hitler's concentration camps.

Stuttgart, January 27, 2009
Father Franz Schmidberger

Bishop Magee under pressure in Cloyne

Another crisis of authority - this time in Cloyne.

It is clear that Bishop Magee failed to both carry out the agreed Church guidelines on allegations of child abuse or even carry out an investigation under Canon Law This was reported in the Indo
A few politicians have called for Magee's head, but I shall rest judgement until the whole story comes out.
However, I will say one thing - it looks if guidelines had been followed from the start - there would have been no need for this rigmarole.

Very overlooked in the whole affair was the fact that the matter was thoroughly investigated by the Gardai and there were no charges whatsoever laid against the accused priests.
This came up in the Examiner, but was totally ignored by The Irish Times.

As Kilbarry1 on politics.ie pointed out :
'Last Saturday there were numerous articles in the 3 main dailies about the alleged failure of Bishop Magee of Cloyne (Co Cork) to deal properly with allegations of child abuse made against two priests. Only one article in one paper (Irish Examiner) mentioned that the Director of Public Prosecutions returned the files on both priests with a direction NOT to prosecute.

The following is an extract from the article by Eoin English.

DPP Was Sent 4 files On Priests But No Charges Brought
Irish Examiner.com:(Dec 20, 2008) DPP was sent 4 files on priests but no charges brought

"DESPITE extensive Garda probes, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided that two priests in the Cloyne diocese accused of child abuse should not face criminal charges.

Gardaí confirmed that “full and thorough” investigations were carried out into each of the allegations levelled against Fr A and Fr B, both priests in the Cloyne diocese.

But after examining one substantial Garda file in relation to Fr A and three files in relation to Fr B, the DPP directed that neither priest should face criminal prosecution. .......

Supt McCarthy said each of the allegations relating to both priests were investigated “fully and thoroughly”.

“Substantial and comprehensive Garda files were prepared. We took the investigations as far as possible and all possible evidence was gathered,” he said.

A single Garda file in relation to Fr A was forwarded to the DPP in November 2006 but the DPP directed in February 2007 that no prosecution should follow.

Three substantial files relating to allegations against Fr B were forwarded to the DPP some time later and in each of the cases, the DPP directed that no prosecution should follow.

Supt McCarthy confirmed that there are no current investigations relating to alleged child abuse by priests in the Cloyne diocese."

Various commentators have called for Bishop Magee to resign, including many who you would expect - One in Four, etc
David Quinn called for the bishop's resignation, on Morning Ireland I believe, after writing this piece for the Irish Independent

The whole affair is well covered on Clerical Whispers for December 23 and 24th.