Struggle against antisemitism
04-02-2009 / Vatican
The Vatican - Holocaust denier must recant
Cardinal in charge of relations with Jews says in radio interview that Catholic Church handled rehabilitation of Holocaust denying Bishop Richard Williamson badly, adds he was not consulted by Pope Benedict .
The statement was issued by the Vatican's Secretariat of State a day after German Chacellor Angela Merkel urged the pope to make a clearer rejection of Holocaust denials,...03-02-2009 / South Africa
South Africa - Hajaig apologizes for comments
Deputy foreign minister Fatima Hajaig today apologized for any pain caused by alleged antisemitic remarks she made at a rally a few weeks ago.
"To the extent that my statement may have caused hurt and pain, I offer an unequivocal apology for the pain it may have caused to the people of our country, and the Jewish community in particular," said Hajaig in a statement.
Source:...03-02-2009 / United States
USA - U.S. Bishops blast Holocaust-Denying Bishop
The nation's top Catholic archbishop condemned the remarks of a Holocaust-denying English bishop as "deeply offensive and utterly false," and sought to reaffirm the church's bonds with the Jewish community.
"No Catholic, whether layperson, priest or bishop, can ever negate the memory of the Shoah," said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust,...03-02-2009 / United States
USA - Cardinal O’Malley: Bishop’s ‘terrible’ Holocaust comments show need for papal oversight
In a Friday article on his blog, Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley commented on the controversy surrounding Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) Bishop Richard Williamson’s “terrible” statements which minimized Jewish suffering in the Holocaust. He argued the bishop’s comments prove the need to increase papal influence over the SSPX and its bishops, whose excommunications were...03-02-2009 / Germany
Germany - Merkel: Pope must clarify Holocaust stance
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Pope Benedict XVI to make a "very clear" rejection of Holocaust denials after the Vatican's rehabilitation of a former bishop who questioned whether 6 million Jews were gassed by the Nazis.
Merkel's rare and public demand came amid increasing outrage among Germany's Roman Catholic leaders over the German-born pope's decision.
Merkel...03-02-2009 / Vatican
The Vatican - Top cardinal: Vatican botched Shoah affair
The cardinal in charge of relations with Jews has acknowledged that the Vatican handled the rehabilitation of a Holocaust-denying bishop very badly and complained that Pope Benedict did not consult him.
"There wasn't enough talking with each other in the Vatican and there are no longer checks to see where problems could arise," said Cardinal Walter Kasper in a blunt interview with...01-02-2009 / Netherlands
Holland - Philosophy professor leaves Church after Society's rehabilitation
A philosophy and ethics professor at Radboud University of Nijmegen, until 2004 formally a Catholic university, has formally renounced his membership of the Catholic Church to protest the rehabilitation of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).
In an interview for Dutch Catholic internet magazine Katholiek Nederland, Belgian-born Jean-Pierre Wils said he refuses to associate himself...01-02-2009 / Germany
Germany - German bishop defies pope over Holocaust denier
Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the Catholic bishop of the German city of Regensburg which is also the pope's home city, declared Williamson persona-non-grata in his district.
Source: www.earthtimes.org01-02-2009 / Germany
Germany - German bishop defies pope over Holocaust denier
A German Catholic bishop Saturday raised unusual criticism of German Pope Benedict XVI for rehabilitating Holocaust denier Bishop Williamson, adding his objections to the pope's leading the church in an ultraconservative direction. Bishop Gebhard Fuerst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart criticized as "totally unacceptable" remarks by Bishop Richard Williamson in recent weeks that there was no...30-01-2009 / France
France - French court convicts man over synagogue attack
A court in northern France has sentenced a young neo-Nazi skinhead to six months in prison for scrawling a swastika and antisemitic graffiti on a synagogue, a judicial official said. The conviction in Lille is believed to be among the first related to an upsurge of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim attacks in France that authorities say was prompted by the three-week war in the Gaza...30-01-2009 / Vatican
The Vatican - Spokesman slams Holocaust-denial comments
In a strongly-worded statement, a Vatican spokesman slammed recent comments by members of the ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholic group denying the World War II Nazi Holocaust or extermination of millions of Jews.
"He who denies the Shoah (Holocaust) knows nothing about the mystery of God or Christ's Cross. It is even worse if the denial comes from the mouth of a priest or a...30-01-2009 / France
France - President Sarkozy vows to act more strongly against antisemitism
Richard Prasquier, head of CRIF, the umbrella representative body of French Jewish organizations, met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée presidential palace in Paris.
According to Prasquier, Sarkozy promised that he would act "personally and strongly" against antisemitism in France.
“The president wants to give a new impetus to the fight against...30-01-2009 / Netherlands
Holland - Foreign Minister demands bishop apologize for holocaust denial
Through the papal nuncio in The Hague, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, "has urged the Pope to explicitly condemn the remarks made by Bishop Richard Williamson concerning the Holocaust". Verhagen also called for "a public apology" from Williamson "for the pain and distress his statements have caused".
"These remarks are not only demonstrably untrue, they are also shocking and...28-01-2009 / South Africa
South-Africa – Struggle against the Vice Minster of Foreign Affairs around antisemitic comments
The Elected Jewish Council of South Africa has filled a complaint against the Vice-Minister of the Foreign Affairs in South Africa, Fatima Hajaig, arguing that she has pronounced an antisemitic discourse. The Council has said that the complaint follows Hajaig's declaration she made two weeks ago in the southern city, Johannesburg. Hajaig allegedly said that "them (the Jews) control...28-01-2009 / France
France - French minister criticizes Pope's 'mistake' over bishop rehabilitation
France's Europe Minister said Pope Benedict XVI had made a "mistake" when he rehabilitated a bishop who has denied the existence of Nazi gas chambers.
"I can say that I am deeply upset by this decision," said Bruno Le Maire, a practising Catholic and the state secretary for European affairs.
"I believe that it was a mistake to forgive so easily and to rehabilitate a bishop...28-01-2009 / Vatican
The Vatican - Elie Wiesel attacks pope over Holocaust bishop
Pope Benedict has given credence to "the most vulgar aspect of anti-Semitism" by rehabilitating a Holocaust-denying bishop, said Elie Wiesel, the death camp survivor, author and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Wiesel also said there was no way the Vatican could have not known about the bishop's past and it may have been done...27-01-2009 / Croatia
Croatia – Antisemitic author fired over comments
Nova TV Network apologised on Holocaust Remembrance Day to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by Vedrana Rudan’s antisemitic comments in a talk show.
Source: www.javno.com23-01-2009 / Netherlands
Holland – The Prime Minister concerned by the antisemitism
The Holland Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has said that groups of muslims and Jews should work together in order to decrease the tensions following a series of antisemitic incidents that have taken place in Holland following the Israeli peration in Gaza. Among other, there have been attempts to set fire on synagogues ands antisemitc slogans wewre heard in manifestations....21-01-2009 / Russia
Russia - editor charged for antisemitic articles
Alexander Yaremenko, the editor of Russian Transbaikal, oversaw the publication of nationalistic articles that lashed out at immigrants to Russia and Jews over the course of two years, according to Vladimir Skubiev, the prosecutor in the eastern Russian city of Chita. The articles asked inflammatory questions in the headlines such as "To whom and why should we lie about the...20-01-2009 / Australia
