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O’Malley defends pope, apologizes to Jews

E-mail|Link|Comments (26) Posted by Michael Paulson January 31, 2009 09:19 AM

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston is praising Pope Benedict XVI's decision to lift the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops, saying the move is a step toward "unity and reconciliation" within Catholicism. But the cardinal also describes the statements denying the Holocaust by one of the bishops (Richard Williamson, shown above) as "outrageous," says, "it certainly raises questions as to the caliber of the leadership that the Society (of Saint Piux X) has," and, in a novel defense of the pope's actions, says, "it underscores the importance for the Holy Father to have increasing influence over those communities.'' O'Malley offers an apology of sorts, saying, "We are very sorry that the people in the Jewish community have been so pained and outraged by Bishop Williamson’s statements," and he repudiates Holocaust denial, saying, "It is very important for us to always remember the Holocaust so that such an atrocity could never take place again."

Here's the full text of O'Malley's statement, posted on his blog at 10 p.m. last night:

The Vatican announced this week that the Holy Father has lifted the excommunications of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X. I was pleased with the news which shows, once again, the Holy Father’s concern for unity and reconciliation in the Church.
In 1988 Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was critical of some elements of the Second Vatican Council, ordained four bishops without the approval of the Holy Father, incurring in automatic excommunication on himself and the four bishops he ordained.

This action follows the publication of the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum a year and a half ago, in which the Holy Father lifted previous restrictions on the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine Mass.

Just before the publication of the Apostolic Letter, I was privileged to be a part of a meeting of cardinals and bishops with the Holy Father in which he expressed his hope that his action would help convince those disaffected Catholics to return to full union with the Catholic Church.

So, his outreach to the communities who follow these bishops is just one more manifestation of his ardent desire to bring these people (which some estimate to be as many as 1.5 million) back into the fold. We know that these are generally people who practice their faith and try to live a Christian life seriously but, unfortunately, I believe that they have been misled by their leadership.

Of course, lifting the excommunications was a first step; it does not regularize these bishops or the Society of St. Pius X, but it opens the way for a dialogue. This step was in response to a letter in which they professed their desire for full participation in the life of the Church.

It was tragic that one of the four bishops, Bishop Richard Williamson, had made outrageous statements about the Holocaust and about the September 11 attacks on the United States. It certainly raises questions as to the caliber of the leadership that the Society has. Additionally, as terrible as the comments were, it underscores the importance for the Holy Father to have increasing influence over those communities.

We are very sorry that the people in the Jewish community have been so pained and outraged by Bishop Williamson’s statements. I think the Holy Father’s statements and those of Cardinal Walter Kasper, chairman of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, have been very clear to dissociate the Catholic Church from those kinds of sentiments. I was pleased that the head of the Society of St. Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, also repudiated the statements of Bishop Williamson.

It is very important for us to always remember the Holocaust so that such an atrocity could never take place again. I recall the words of the Holy Father this week: “May the Shoah be for everyone an admonition against oblivion, negation and reductionism, because violence against a single human being is violence against all.”

The U.S. bishops have been uncharacteristically silent about the pope's actions, and so far as I know O'Malley is the first cardinal to speak publicly about the controversy. The bishops of Canada, however, did issue a statement this week, taking no position on the wisdom of lifting the excommunications, but declaring, "The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops finds abhorrent the notion that somehow the terrible evil of the Holocaust is not a fact of history."

UPDATE: At America magazine's blog, the Rev. James Martin visits the Society of Saint Pius X's web site, finds an article with stunning anti-Semitism ("they crucified the One," "It is public knowledge that the Jewish sector...controls especially the financial power that is exercised through banks," and "Judaism is inimical to all nations in general"), and poses the question, "Is anti-Semitism a pattern that pervades the Society of St. Pius X, or is it simply a bigotry expressed by only a few members?"

And at the National Catholic Reporter, John L. Allen Jr. asks "What was the Vatican thinking?" Allen writes that: "The way this decision was communicated was a colossal blunder, and one that's frankly difficult to either understand or excuse,'' before exploring how things might have unfolded differently. But, reinforcing the America magazine analysis, Allen also suggests that Williamson is not alone in his views. Allen writes, "Williamson's views should not be used to discredit every Catholic who feels the tug of classical liturgical forms, or who takes a traditional doctrinal stance. Many of the people drawn to the Society of St. Pius X, or any of the various traditionalist groups already in communion with Rome, are simply Catholics hungry for a clear sense of spiritual identity in a rootless world. On the other hand, it would be equally misleading to style Williamson as a "lone gunman," an isolated crank with no connection to broader currents of thought in the traditionalist world."

UPDATE: My story on Cardinal O'Malley's comments in Sunday's paper.

(Photo, by AFP/Getty Images, shows Bishop Williamson's controversial interview with Swedish television about the Holocaust as seen in Argentina.)

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26 comments so far...

Another silly excuse as the church hierarchy drifts yet closer to the extreme right.

Ten years ago, I would have read this with mild interest and figured it was no reason for a response, but this Pope and the previous Pope are staffing the hierarchy with men who do not share our belief in the separation of the Church and the State. It is a frightening development to see a million and a half nut cases and their admittedly bad leadership being brought into the tent (with a church intent on legislating their bigoted views on gay marriage and loading the courts with judges who blatantly and consistently make outrageous judgments in favor of big business and the powerful elite of this country).

Posted by notsurprised January 31, 09 11:06 AM

Moral frauds. O'Malley and Ratzinger and the whole lot of them.

Posted by Sportin' Life January 31, 09 11:21 AM

The Catholic Church is indirectly responsible for the Holocaust. The Catholic Church has demonized Jews for centuries, depicting them with devilish horns in art, and accusing them of killing "the Son of God," thus sowing the seeds of hate that resulted in centuries of violence towards Jews, culminating in the Holocaust. Personally, I believe Jesus was a socially conscious Jew, like the late actor Paul Newman, and a mortal. Regardless, if Jesus had died of old age, instead of on the Cross, then there probably wouldn't even be Christianity. Anyway, I had the uptmost respect for Pope John. But with the German Pope Benedict, I can see the Catholic Church is going back to its Medieval Ways.

Posted by Stephen Block January 31, 09 11:39 AM

*** this Pope and the previous Pope are staffing the hierarchy with men who do not share our belief in the separation of the Church and the State****

Exactly, and that's frightening to consider the implications. I fthe church wants to influence political events then it should belly up to the bar and open its purse strings and start paying taxes as just another lobbying entity...

Posted by nighthawlsoars January 31, 09 12:22 PM

I have a Rhetoric question. I am not Catholic but my understanding is that one is elected Pope they are deemed infallable. Pius the XII was a Nazi sympahizer (as was Joe Kennedy the elder) Was Pious XII wrong? Was or are the subsequent Popes more infallable refuting the Nazis? Can God make a rock so heavy that he can't pick it up?

Posted by XENOPHON January 31, 09 12:40 PM

Criminals Among Us
That should be the title of the Catholic hierarchy
The Pope that served as a Nazi and embraces Holocaust deniers
The American bishops tried to defeat Obama and failed.
Any clergyman who knew of a child rape and did not report it to legal authorities should go to prison.
I think a shining example of a Catholic bishop is convicted felon Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and fleeing the scene after leaving a man to die in the road. AND THE FELON IS STILL A BISHOP.
And just think, John I RAPED 135 BOYS was given a Catholi funeral

Posted by jake January 31, 09 12:53 PM

I am so disappointed in this action by the Pope. How does this action give more unity and reconciliation in the church? The Pope is trying to break down barriers in Europe with Muslims, why is he undoing what was done over the last years in reconciliation with our brethren in the Jewish faith.
The church continues to do things that are confusing and hard to explain. As a gay man, I would love the Pope to eliminate the constant bigotry the church has for us. What about divorced Catholics?
As for Cardinal O'Malley, he should come out of his shell, face the people and try to build unity in the Boston church.

Posted by Carl January 31, 09 01:00 PM

Steven - he had to be, by definition, the Son of God, or not. If not, he was a lunatic. You can't have it both ways. And you are correct, if Jesus died of old age, and did not rise, there would be no Christianity.

Posted by KJR January 31, 09 01:23 PM

INSTEAD OF EXPLAINING AWAY THE BLUNDERS OF THE POPE, I WOULD LIKE O'MALLEY TO TRY TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE CANNON LAW THAT SPEAKS OF CRIMINAL SOLICITATION BY PRIESTS IN THE CONFESSIONAL. THIS WAS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE MOLESTATION OF CHILDREN, AND RE-AFFIRMED BY RATZINGER AS SECRETARY OF THE VATICAN STATE. THIS LAW DEMANDS SECRET FILES AND THE TRANSFER OF ALL PRIESTS WHO ARE ACCUSED OF THESE CRIMES. THIS CANNON LAW IS STILL IN EFFECT. O;MALLEY SHOULD LEARN TO SPEAK ONLY TRUTH!

Posted by RICHARD ORAREO January 31, 09 01:40 PM

This reach for unification has certainly been outrageous by western civilized standards. One doesn't usually think of tradition and unification as meaning back to the bronze age, or as here, back to the genocidal sectarian, racial and religious prejudices of the sixteenth century (most of which were more or less dropped in the US sometime after 1955, and in France sometime soon, perhaps).
I see this Papal move as an accommodation with Muslim populations, who share similar views largely stemming from post-WWII mideast history. But if the Pope wishes to be considered infallible in theological matters, he should at the least avoid actions that make him appear opportunistic, essentially political, and consciously evil. Perhaps he believes that being burnt at the stake actually gives one a cleansed and purified feeling. If so, he is wrong; commiting horrors upon our fellow humans cannot be blindly justified. I would like to see, in the US at least, some public acknowledgement of and apology for the Church's century of explicit antisemitism, and perhaps a recall of the few million catechim and doctrine books still out there. In Italy, where the church, during the 19th century unification of the country won the right to be the exclusive provider of elementary 'education' one still finds country people who believe Jews have horns. Perhaps the Pope would like to pay a unification visit to Salem Massachusetts, which has a brief but historically significant role in such theology.

Posted by mike falkoff January 31, 09 02:46 PM

When are you people in Boston going to grow up. You are alll experts in what the Catholic Church does and should do. That is what happens when we do not believe in GOD. That is why the USA is always at war with others. we do not know how to love and pardon. I feel sorry for your families, husbands, wives, children. Why are you so angry. When does all this come to an end. Can´t we live in peace and try to build and not destroy?

Posted by . epaga January 31, 09 06:18 PM

Xenophon: The Pope is not considered infallible in general; only when he exercizes the teaching function of the Church on strictly intra-church dogmatic questions, when he says he is speaking 'ex cathedra,' from the chair. This has been done precisely twice in Catholic history, in 1854 and 1950.

Pius XII was not a nazi sympathizer. He did his best to shelter and hide as many Jews as he could. He wrote a stinging letter about Hitler, Mit Brennender Sorge. Right after the war, many Jews praised him for his efforts, including the chief Rabbi of Rome. Does that make the Rabbi a sympathizer of a nazi sympathizer?

Jake: you list as a criminal action of the Catholic bishops 'trying to defeat Obama.' Is that now a crime? Do we now live in a (Democratic) totalitarian state? I guess that makes the 46% of Americans who voted for McCain crooks. C'mon, Jake, wise up!

Stephen Block, you say that 'the Catholic Church' is indirectly responsible for the Holocaust. Could we reduce that to 'certain members of the Catholic Church?' Were all the little old ladies in Dublin and Lima and Seoul responsible for the Holocaust? They are just as much the Catholic Church as a Pope. I certainly don't blame the Jewish religion for the crimes of Bernie Madoff. Plus, most of the evidence you cite is from the Middle Ages; isn't that the mistake the Muslims are making, taking 800 year old history as if it happened yesterday.

Posted by gaudete January 31, 09 08:17 PM

Ratzinger is a German who drew up in Nazi Germany. He was surronded by extreme anti semitism. He was the hatchet man for JPII and now people think he will cleanse himself of the rhetoric he has read and preached for 80 years?? The pope is suppossed to be infallible but he is elected by men....men who are far from infallible (see Bernie Law). I am a Catholic who truly believes and follows the teachings of Jesus. The Final Judgment in Matthew tells you evereything you need to know to follow in the steps of Christ. The man made politics of Rome are a convenient and disgusting legacy of the Middle Ages indulgences and payoffs to hypocritical men who have no sense of reality or leading a truly holy and loving life.

Posted by Dmona January 31, 09 10:43 PM

Hitler responsilible for what happened to the Jews and I think all our church
leader should not keep saying sorry to them, it make us the bad guy like that.
I worship my god but I don't included the Jews but I also don't excluded them etiher. It is not fair for others. It is hard to forgive when you don't forget.

Posted by stephanie January 31, 09 11:57 PM

Dmona, you don't know what your faith teaches. You have sipped the cool-aid of the reformers, whose motivation (sparked by Luther) was to weaken the political influence of the Church, under the guise of reformation of doctrine. Oh, I get it, Luther had it right, and everyone prior to him, Aquinas, Augustine, etc etc had it wrong. There are currently 25,000 knock-off Christian Churches who cannot agree with each other as to what the bible "infallibly" teaches.

Peter was given the Keys to the Kingdom to lead "in all truth". Not some of the truth, all of the truth as it relates to faith matters and moral teaching.

So, you should learn more about your faith if you are Catholic, rather than pick and choose what you care to believe.

Finally, you believe that the canon of scripture is the "infallible word of God", I presume. This "infallible" determination was made by "fallible" men in a magisterial counsel. That is the point. (See gaudete, above)

Posted by KJR February 1, 09 12:41 AM

The new Pope has a few problems with PR,..... most of it related to Jews..... and that's tough cause I'm pretty sure Jesus had a few drops of Jewish blood in him.
It would be nice to see leadership anywhere that has a clue that what you say may have consequences.
This guy seems to be the antithesis of WWJD.

Posted by Snake Plisken February 1, 09 12:54 AM

One thing not discussed is under what conditions, if any, these schismatic bishops were de-excommunicated. Clearly, they were not told that they would no longer be allowed to preach lies and to disseminate calumnies. How does "His Holiness" plan to deal with the 1-1/2 million people who have been grievously misled by these sickos? Also, how does the Pope plan to reconcile his forgiveness of this bishops whom he considers miscreants (presumably repentant ones?) with his "who cares?" attitude about the many many bishops who condones, or even facilitated, the rape of children by priests. There are surely TENS of millions of Catholics who think that this is a lot worse than wanting to use the old Latin mass. For that matter, how does Cardinal O'Malley plan to reconcile the two situations? (I imagine that many members of Voice of the Faithful would want to know.)

In terms of how much/how little Pope Pius XII did to help Jews and others who were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices, it does seem that "the jury is still out" on that. True, the guy got some praise immediately after World War II -- but that was before anybody had access to either the Vatican files or those of the Third Reich.

Posted by EdA February 1, 09 01:55 AM

As I have observed before let's all please remember there were more than just Jews in the ovens. My own forbears migrated here to the USA because Christianity was the monority, persecuted religion. A century or more ago the Moslem idea of conversion was join or die!

Posted by XENOPHON February 1, 09 06:42 AM

Stephanie, Your command of the English language is a bad as your logic.

Are you sure that you are not a relative of Sarah Palin?

Posted by rejectignorance February 1, 09 07:46 AM

epega, you sound like you could be in the churches hierarchy. Just look he other way when the big bosses do the wrong thing. The people of Boston, along with a whole big lot of others, are grown up enough to be able to look critically at 'Big Daddy', any 'Big Daddy', and make our own value judgements regarding their actions. Then expect them to be held accountable. They are human, the church is made up of infallibles. There is no reason whatsoever that they not be scrutinized, especially when they act as if they were above reproach. O'Malley's no more than a 'company guy' looking out for his own skin, don't let the dowdy frock fool ya. Ratzinger's just another in a long line of megalomaniacs in sheep's clothing bent on world domination. The legacy of the catholic church has ALWAYS been to destroy. It is likely the most destructive human generated force ever conceived. Countless peoples, cultures, artifacts, ways of life, languages, and so on are gone forever because of it. So, yes, we can live toward peace and building.
Part of the process is identifying those persons and entities which keep us at odds with one another and putting them in their place. The church and it's minions are just examples of those.

Posted by keter February 1, 09 08:14 AM

Gaudete and epaga,

I fail to understand why it is so hard for you to understand this issue.

I am embarrassed that our Pope has now insulted the people of the Islamic religion, our protestant fellow Christians, and now our Jewish friends. This Pope persists in dismantling what Pope John XXIII accomplished in helping us understand that our God is a God of love (not hate and division).

O'Malley appears to be a good man, but misguided in trying to be the apologist for this Pope.

Yes, It makes me angry that the hierarchy is so conservative that they have crossed the line and openly campaigned against social justice. I get furious when I see campaign cards in my pew at church. THIS IS CROSSING THE LINE. It is frightening because people are told that they need to go to confession if they don't vote as they are told. This presents them with a moral issue that is hard to overcome!

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a country controlled by a Christian Taliban...one that would deny the suffering of the Jews at the hands of Christians.

My message to the church is perhaps, after three disasters, someone should put a muzzle on the Rottwieler. For those who think he is right, I would like you to read the New Testament and reflect upon what Jesus taught us. My other message to the Church is that you will see more anger in the year ahead as the economy and the world continue to deteriorate and people suffer because you helped elect an incompetent and greedy party for the rich and elite, by the rich and elite, and of the rich and elite. You may think you have a duty to try to influence elections, but you will have to live with the fruits of your work. My logic professor in Catholic college taught me that the end never justifies a bad means. Maybe the hierarchy should study Christian logic again.

I was taught by my conservative Catholic mother that you reject lies. As an independent voter, I watch as the party of choice for our hierarchy used lies, insinuations, and racist remarks in their attempt to keep their power.

I am grateful for the wisdom of the American people in rejecting this crowd of thugs and thank God every Sunday at Mass. The fact that we elected a man of color in this racist country, is proof of the dire need for change.

By the way epaga, my family is doing well Thanks for the concern

Posted by seektruthaways February 1, 09 08:50 AM

Richard,

You can't "speak only truth" and be a member in good standing of an organized religion at the same time. It has never been done. They are mutually exclusive.

Posted by hippydippy February 1, 09 09:58 AM

It's hard to figure why anyone would have anything to do with this institution. The leadership is so awful and the rank and file endorse them every time they sit in a pew and give money.

Posted by Drew February 1, 09 10:28 AM

Seektruthaways,

We seem to be crossing each other on several threads on this blog.

First of all, I agree with you that there should be no campaign cards in the pews at church. And as far as i know, there was only one priest (out of approx. 40,000) in the country (in South Carolina) who told his people that they needed to go to confession if they voted for Obama, and this priest was reprimanded by his superiors the next day.

You say how great it is that a man of color could be elected in this racist country, but surely President Obama has something more going for him than his race?

Again, just like in the "Professor Cohen" thread, you demonize anyone who didn't vote for the same person or party as you. This is very conceited of you. Wouldn't it be more 'fair and balanced' of you that the 46% of the voters who did not vote your way might have studied the issues and come to a different conclusion than you? I try to see the value and merits of those who did not vote as I; that's called humility, that i know i don't have a corner on the market of political truth. As for myself, I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but an Independent, because neither party completely represents the issues as i see them, and so i can vote in either primary.

Posted by gaudete February 1, 09 02:52 PM

Like John Paul 2 before him this Pope Benedict seems to have some mental problems in his old age. It doesn't take away from his piety, only his reputation for good judgement.
Do we need an age limit for the job?
Am I wrong to think that the early Church elected the local bishops? I've a few candidates for Boston.

Posted by Jacko23 February 2, 09 07:12 AM

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation in these posts.
1. The pope is "infallible" only when he is officially defining dogma of the faithful.
2. The Catholic Church is anything but responsible for the Holocaust, rather, Pope Pius XII was hailed at the time by many as a lone voice against the Nazi actions. Little spoken about the many Catholics were also brutally imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis.
3. Throughout the "priest shortage" in the Catholic Church today, the Society of St. Pius X has seen its numbers of priests more than triple in the past 20 years. No shortage there. The Society needs Rome and Rome needs the Society. I do not claim any allegiance to the Society, but I do know they are not in a shortage of priests. There is a LOT to be said about THAT!!!

Posted by Marie Siobhan Boland February 11, 09 10:01 PM

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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
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Harvey Cox, the Hollis professor of divinity at Harvard University, marks his retirement by asserting a little-used right of his professorship -- to graze a cow in Harvard Yard. Photo, by Barry Chin of the Globe staff, taken on Sept. 10, 2009 in Cambridge, Mass.