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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Nazi row bishop returns to the UK | Nazi row bishop returns to the UK |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A British Roman Catholic bishop embroiled in a row over Holocaust denial has arrived in the UK after being thrown out of Argentina. | A British Roman Catholic bishop embroiled in a row over Holocaust denial has arrived in the UK after being thrown out of Argentina. |
| Richard Williamson, who lived in Buenos Aires, was asked to leave after he refused to retract his denial of the existence of Nazi gas chambers. | Richard Williamson, who lived in Buenos Aires, was asked to leave after he refused to retract his denial of the existence of Nazi gas chambers. |
| The row hugely embarrassed the Vatican which had only recently lifted an excommunication order on the bishop. | The row hugely embarrassed the Vatican which had only recently lifted an excommunication order on the bishop. |
| After his arrival he was taken straight to a waiting car by police officers. | After his arrival he was taken straight to a waiting car by police officers. |
| 'Deeply shocked' | 'Deeply shocked' |
| Those meeting the bishop, including other Roman Catholic priests, declined to answer any questions from the press before the vehicle sped away. | Those meeting the bishop, including other Roman Catholic priests, declined to answer any questions from the press before the vehicle sped away. |
| The bishop has been living at the St Pius X seminary in Buenos Aires, but Last Thursday he was given 10 days to leave the country for having "deeply shocked Argentine society, the Jewish people and all of humanity". | The bishop has been living at the St Pius X seminary in Buenos Aires, but Last Thursday he was given 10 days to leave the country for having "deeply shocked Argentine society, the Jewish people and all of humanity". |
| Lord Janner, President of the Holocaust Educational Trust commented: "It would be much better if Williamson was not here as his views are anti-Semitic, extremely offensive, and insulting to the millions who witnessed and suffered the horrors of the Holocaust. | |
| "Sadly, as a British citizen, he cannot be prevented." | |
| Earlier, Bishop Williamson had been removed from his post as head of a Roman Catholic seminary near Buenos Aires. | |
| Local TV showed the bishop raising a clenched fist to a reporter's face | Local TV showed the bishop raising a clenched fist to a reporter's face |
| A row erupted in January after Pope Benedict decided to lift Bishop Williamson's excommunication on an unrelated matter. | |
| After that move, it emerged that the bishop had denied the full extent of the Nazi genocide of the Jews in an interview for Swedish TV. | After that move, it emerged that the bishop had denied the full extent of the Nazi genocide of the Jews in an interview for Swedish TV. |
| "I believe there were no gas chambers," he had said. | "I believe there were no gas chambers," he had said. |
| "I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers." | "I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers." |
| The Vatican later said the Pope had been unaware of Bishop Williamson's views and had ordered him to recant. | The Vatican later said the Pope had been unaware of Bishop Williamson's views and had ordered him to recant. |
| Pope Benedict met American Jewish leaders at the Vatican in a display of solidarity with victims of the Nazis. | Pope Benedict met American Jewish leaders at the Vatican in a display of solidarity with victims of the Nazis. |
| The decision to lift the excommunication order was related to the appointment of Richard Williamson as bishop by a breakaway archbishop more than 20 years ago. | The decision to lift the excommunication order was related to the appointment of Richard Williamson as bishop by a breakaway archbishop more than 20 years ago. |
| Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who died in 1991, had rebelled against liberal reforms in the Church, such as the ending of the Latin Mass. | Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who died in 1991, had rebelled against liberal reforms in the Church, such as the ending of the Latin Mass. |