Catholic Transcript Online

In late January, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the personal penalty of excommunication of four schismatic bishops belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X. They incurred this excommunication on June 30, 1988, announced the next day, as a consequence of their illegitimate ordination by schismatic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. This decision by the Holy Father was the occasion for much consternation here and around the world, particularly since one of the four, Bishop Richard Williamson, has held that six million Jews were not killed in the Holocaust, but only a small fraction of that number

Shortly thereafter, the Vatican issued a clarifying statement: "In order to be readmitted to Episcopal functions within the Church, Bishop Williamson must absolutely, unequivocally, and publicly distance himself from his views concerning the Shoah, which were unknown to the Holy Father at the moment he lifted the excommunication."

The statement went further: "The remission of the excommunication has freed the four bishops from a serious canonical penalty, but it has not altered the juridical position of the Society of Saint Pius X which, at the present time, enjoys no canonical recognition within the Catholic Church. Even the four bishops, though released from excommunication, have no canonical function in the Church and cannot legally exercise a ministry within her."

Concerning the Society of Saint Pius X, the Vatican stated that "A full recognition of the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI himself is an indispensable condition for any future recognition ..."

Pope Benedict firmly rejected Bishop Williamson’s views on the Shoah as absolutely unacceptable. On January 28, the Holy Father, referring to that brutal genocide, repeated his "complete and indisputable solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters who received the First Covenant, affirming that the memory of that terrible event must induce humankind to reflect upon the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man."

On February 12, the Pope received in audience members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He began his address by recalling his visit to a synagogue in Cologne, Germany, on August 19, 2005. He then mentioned his trip on May 28, 2006, to the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. He said, "As I walked through the entrance to that place of horror, the scene of such untold suffering, I meditated on the countless number of prisoners, so many of them Jews, who had trodden that same path into captivity at Auschwitz and in all the other prison camps."

The Pope went on to say, "The hatred and contempt for men, women, and children that was manifested in the Shoah was a crime against God and against humanity ...  It is beyond question that any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable and altogether unacceptable."

The Pope also made clear his ideas on this in his general audience on May 31, 2006, and in his general audience on January 28 of this year.

Various people have written to me or telephoned to express their concerns on this matter. As I have stated in response in both writing and conversation, I have visited Nazi concentration camps in Poland and Germany and have spoken many times over the years on the unspeakable and unique horror that the Shoah is in the history of the world. I find personally repulsive the remarks made by Bishop Richard Williamson about the Holocaust.

You may be aware that denying the Holocaust is a crime in Germany, punishable by up to five years in prison.

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Lent

We are already entered into the sacred season of Lent, the springtime of the soul. It is a blessed opportunity for more concentrated practice of the fundamental exercises of the spiritual life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Major League Baseball has begun spring training. Pope Benedict XVI in his Message for Lent 2009 refers to this time as "an itinerary of more intense spiritual training." (Italics added.)

With the financial crisis impacting so much of our world, our country, and our local communities, it is clear that many of us have been turning more instinctively and promptly to prayer. Participation in daily Mass can make our day more complete. Reflection and prayer on Sacred Scripture and the lives of the saints lift our hearts to God. Making the Stations of the Cross and reciting the Rosary deepen our understanding of God’s love for us.

Unfortunately, for too many of us, fasting this year is not as voluntary as it may have been in the past. Nonetheless, through the centuries it has been a very effective way of deepening our communion with God. The Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Church for all time respect fasting as an essential act of the religious soul.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are intimately connected. The Pope quotes Saint Peter Chrysologus in his Lenten Message: "Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself."

The Archbishop's Annual Appeal this year is focused on the priority of establishing an emergency assistance fund to provide help for people with basic human needs: food, clothing, rental assistance, furniture, utility costs, medical prescriptions, car repairs (to get to work), tuition assistance, and financial counseling. If parishes cannot provide such assistance for people requesting it, referrals can be made to Catholic Charities, who will administer the fund. The needs are real. With prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, may we rise to meet them.

In the context of the Cross, we realize that there is no short cut, no cheap grace. May Lent for all of us be a strong and effective experience of heart and soul.