Australia cancels visa of Holocaust-denying bishop

Richard Williamson was convicted of Holocaust denial by a German court in 2013 and suspended by Pope Benedict XVI

JTA/June 11, 2014

A British Catholic bishop who has denied that six million Jews died in the Holocaust has had his visa cancelled by the Australian government.

Richard Williamson was scheduled to speak in rural Australia this month but his visa was canceled this week, the Australian Jewish News reported.

The Australian Jewish newspaper said it had contacted the Department of Immigration last week to alert them to Williamson’s visit.

A department spokesman told the newspaper this week that “the individual’s visa has been canceled,” the paper reported.

Williamson, who was convicted of Holocaust denial by a German court in 2013, has claimed that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust, but none in gas chambers. He also described Jews as “enemies of Christ.”

Williamson was suspended from his episcopal functions by Pope Benedict XVI until he repudiated his denial of the Holocaust. In 2012, he was expelled from the Society of Saint Pius X, a breakaway sect that opposes Church reforms decided by the second Vatican Council.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.