Pope Benedict to clarify lifting Bishop Williamson's excommunication, reports say
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Pope Benedict XVI

CNA STAFF, Mar 11, 2009 / 02:55 pm (CNA).- News outlets in various languages are reporting that a letter from Pope Benedict XVI to the bishops of the world, explains the decision to lift Bishop Richard Williamson’s excommunication. Significant excerpts of the letter were leaked by the Italian papers Il Foglio and Il Giornale as well as the German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The official full-length letter will be published by the Vatican on Thursday in Italian, German, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese at noon Rome time. Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy See press director will offer a briefing at 11:30 in the press office.

The published excerpts quote the Pope as writing, “Therefore I feel pressed to address to you, dear brethren, a clarifying word, which is meant to help to understand the intentions which have guided me and the competent organs of the Holy See in this step. I hope in this way to contribute to peace in the Church.”

The passages in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also mention that Pope Benedict says he was unaware of Bishop Williamson’s statements on the Holocaust and that “closely following the news available on the internet would have made it possible to obtain knowledge of the problem in time.” The Holy See intends to follow internet news sources much more closely.

According to reports, the Holy Father also defends the Second Vatican Council and cites steps he is taking to ensure that the St. Pius X Society contends with the teachings of the Council before any progress is made in its canonical status.

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Subscriber comments:
Published by: Francis Xavier T
Washington, D.C. 03/12/2009 03:27 PM EST
What a great man great leader he is? Blessed are you our beloved humble Holy Father Benedict XVI? Your people in Washington D.C. always love you.
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Published by: Dan in Calgary
Calgary Alberta Canada 03/12/2009 03:07 PM EST
Seth:

I am with you. Even more, the goals of our Holy Father's decision (including potential for the return of their many followers back to our Church) go infinitely beyond the ramblings of one old ignorant crank.

Besides, the Holy Father was never a holocaust denier, it is only that our Attention-Deficit-Disorder news-byte-in-a-minute secular sociey erroneously jumped to that conclusion without taking the time and effort to perceive the larger view.

Why should the Holy Father apolgise, let alone take responsibility for, other people's lazy, hasty and mistaken conclusions?

Dan in Calgary
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Published by: Seth Baumgartner
Boston/United States 03/11/2009 11:07 PM EST
I am all for inter-religious dialogue, but why does the Holy Father always have to apologize for his decisions? i understand that some things may be ofending to people, but when is it the Jewish Communities buisness on what the Catholic Church is doing? Are we suppose to be offended that they are praying for the coming of the messiah even though we believe the messiah already came? i am in no way anti-semetic but i just get aggreviated that Pope Benedict is constantly having to apologize for his deicisions because they offend some community. I do not agree with the Bishops statement, but what happen to forgiveness? Are we suppose to never allow someone into the church because of something said in the past?
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