New York, NY, October 24, 2012 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the expulsion of Holocaust denying Bishop Richard Williamson from the traditionalist Catholic sect Society of St. Pius X, but said it “in no way repairs the damage already done by his abhorrent beliefs.”
Bishop Williamson has repeatedly made statements denying the extent of the Nazi Holocaust and was convicted of Holocaust denial in Germany. A year ago he wrote an essay on his blog suggesting that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus. According to reports, the reason given for his expulsion from the Society of St. Pius X was that he had disobeyed his superiors.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor, issued the following statement:
The expulsion of Bishop Richard Williamson from the Society of St. Pius X is a welcome development and sends a message that his ideas are unacceptable and unwelcome. But this move in no way repairs the damage already done by his abhorrent beliefs.
We wish that in expelling him from their ranks, the Society would have taken the opportunity to condemn his anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. We believe that, regardless of their views on religious doctrine and teachings, the remaining leaders of the Society have a moral obligation to make a clear break from the past and denounce anti-Semitism as unacceptable for all time.