The Bishop Sort-Of-Not-Really Apologizes for Nothing

by Michelle . · 2009-02-26 18:32:00 UTC
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The drama continues with Bishop Richard Williamson, who has, at least temporarily, replaced David Irving and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the world's most famous Holocaust denier.

He even has the AP chasing him down at the airport, paparazzi-style. (Somehow, though, I doubt I will see it on TMZ tonight.)

The bishop released a statement today apologizing for his remarks --- apologizing, but not recanting. The devil is, so to speak, in the details:

"The prelate said that on Swedish television he only gave the ‘opinion [...] of a non-historian,' a perspective ‘formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since.'

However, he recognized, ‘the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused.'

He added, ‘To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize.'"

(Read: "I am sorry you were upset by what I said...but I still mean it.")

That's the very definition of a closed mind --- an opinion formed 20 years ago (based on what evidence, I don't know) and stubbornly adhered to despite an overwhelming body of credible evidence that proves otherwise.

I mean, come on...the Holocaust, with its wretched gas chambers, is an incredibly well-documented historical event. What motivates someone to cling to such a baseless point of view?

See the bishop dodge the AP, in his stylish black hat and sunglasses:

[Photo: Bishop Richard Williamson, second from left in foreground, is escorted out of Heathrow airport by police and security officers after arriving on a flight from Argentina, in London, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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