Main focus of Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Loss of face

Discussion over Pope Benedict XVI's rehabilitation of the traditionalist Holocaust denier Richard Williamson is heating up. Now German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also joined in, and called on the Pope to make a statement on the handling of the Holocaust. The European press discusses the loss of face for the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Helsingin Sanomat - Finland

In the dispute over the rehabilitation of Holocaust denier Richard Williamson the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat points to the Pope's responsibilities beyond the sphere of the Catholic Church: "The moral power of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church goes far beyond guiding the more than one billion Catholics worldwide. People listen to the Pope on matters of war and peace, hate and charity. … Benedict wanted to patch up the divides in the Church, not raise doubts about the genocide of the Jews. But his decision was a mistake. The leaders of the Catholic Church in the 1940s have been accused of indifference towards the Holocaust. Moreover, Benedict is a German. Israel and the Jews in Germany are angry about the Pope's decision. And many German Catholic bishops have criticised him in a tone harsher than ever before. … The task of the Pope cannot be confined to defending the teachings of his own Church; he must show sensitivity towards mankind in general and in all its diversity." (04/02/2009)

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on the worldwide protests sparked by Pope Benedict XVI's rehabilitation of the four traditionalist bishops: "In addition to rehabilitating a Holocaust denier - which should never have happened - Pope Benedict has offered full membership in the Church to bishops who themselves admit they do not adhere to the fundamentals of Church doctrine, and who lead a movement that rejects the basic tenets of democratic societies. The damage to the Church in general and to the Papacy in particular is immeasurable." (04/02/2009)

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Rzeczpospolita - Poland

In the dispute over the rehabilitation of Richard Williamson the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita, which often adopts an anti-German stance, defends Benedict XVI: "It's hardly surprising that the Germans are sensitive in the matter of Holocaust denial. The sensitivity of German Chancellor Angela Merkel when it comes to offending the sensibilities of the Jews is also understandable – as is her concern over the fact that a Pope from Bavaria is being accused of hindering dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jews. One can't help feeling that the Chancellor is being guided by the majority of German media. She has reminded the Pope that he must adopt an unequivocal stance on the issue of Holocaust denial. But is this really necessary? During his general audience on January 28 Benedict XVI talked about his solidarity with the Jews, the importance of remembering the Shoah and his visits to [the concentration camp in] Auschwitz. … Can one still claim that the Vatican is avoiding the subject of 'Holocaust denial'?" (04/02/2009)

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Corriere del Ticino - Switzerland

The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino comments on a sermon by Abbot Régis de Cacqueray-Valménier, leader of the Society of St. Pius X, from which the Society's aim to turn Pope Benedict XVI away from the goals of the Second Vatican Council can be inferred. "The abbot's sermon says in no uncertain terms what the Society wants from the Pope: the return to a premodern Christianity and a church doctrine antecedent to Vatican II. If the sermon reflects the Society's true ideas, it is not they who have returned to the Church, but the Church which has come closer to them. It is the Society of St. Pius X which now welcomes the entire Catholic Church in its midst, which went astray in the laicist and progressive confusion of the Council. ... Will the traditionalists succeed in converting the Pope, who at the beginning of his Pontificate stressed the need for renewing the Second Vatican Council with utmost vigour?" (04/02/2009)

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