Holocaust-denial remarks stir new dispute for Vatican

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's relations with Jews risked a new crisis yesterday after an excommunicated British bishop - reportedly in line for rehabilitation - said historical evidence "is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed" during World War II.

Two Italian newspapers reported Thursday that Pope Benedict XVI planned to lift the excommunication of Richard Williamson and three other bishops punished for having been consecrated without papal consent 20 years ago by conservative French Archbishop Marcel Lefevbre.

The Vatican declined to comment on the reports, but a spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, suggested yesterday that such a decree would be made public soon.

Rome's chief rabbi, Ricardo Di Segni, asked the Vatican to halt the reported rehabilitation. The rabbi said it was "inconceivable" the pope did not know Williamson's views.

The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consulation also urged that the excommunications of all four - and especially Williamson - not be lifted, saying they were all opposed to pursuing relations with Jews, Protestants and Muslims.

Vatican-Jewish relations had already been strained by Jewish criticism of Pius XII, the pontiff during World War II who is accused by some of not speaking out in a bid to head off the Holocaust. And Israeli officials recently took offense when a senior cardinal said Gaza under the Israeli offensive seemed like a "big concentration camp."

Williamson made his comments in an interview with Swedish state TV while in Germany in November; the broadcast aired Wednesday.

He said the Nazis did not use gas chambers.

"I believe that the historical evidence ... is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler," he said.

He cited what he called the "most serious" revisionists, who he said had concluded that "200,000 to 300,000 perished in Nazi concentration camps, but not one of them by gassing in a gas chamber."

Vatican officials declined yesterday to comment on his remarks.

Pope Benedict XVI

has joined President Obama and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II by launching his own YouTube channel, the latest Vatican effort to reach out to the digital generation.

The Vatican said

it was starting the channel to broaden Benedict's audience while also giving the Holy See better control over the papal image online.

In his inaugural foray

yesterday, Benedict, 81, told viewers he hoped they would "feel involved in this great dialogue of truth."

The site

(

» READ MORE: www.youtube

.

com/vaticanit) was launched the same day the pontiff praised as a "gift to humanity" the benefits of social- networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in forging friendships and understanding. But he said "obsessive" online networking could isolate people from real social interaction.

- Associated Press