Pope Benedict XVI Welcomes Back Holocaust Denier & 9/11 Conspiracy Theorist

Pope Benedict XVI has welcomed back four bishops who were ex-communicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II two decades ago. The bishops were consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who headed up The Society of St. Pius X. This organization was founded in 1970 as a reaction to the Second Vatican Council five years earlier.

Lefebvre and the Society of St. Pius X were notorious anti-Semites. Indeed, one of those bishops welcomed back was Richard Williamson. He has publicly stated no Jews were killed in gas chambers during the Second World War. Williamson has also referred to Jews as "enemies of Christ" and believes the Protocols of Elder Zion to be authentic. On top of that, Williamson believes the attacks of September 11, 2001 were staged by the U.S. government. Show me a Holocaust denier and I'll show you someone who denies 9/11.

What would possess the Pope to do such a thing? After all, there were those who accused him of being a Nazi sympathizer as he was part of the Hitler Youth as a teenager. Of course, all German boys fourteen and older were required to join. Why do something that would lead people to believe he was sympathetic to the Nazis all along?

I don't believe the Pope did this for the sake of the Society of St. Pius X. After all, they are small in number and wield little influence in the Church. I believe the Pope did this to placate Muslims.

Remember that the Pope raised the ire of Muslims on September 12, 2006 - the day after the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. While lecturing in Germany, the Pope quoted Manuel II Paleologus, ruler of the Byzantine Empire from 1391 to 1425, who is to have said:

Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and then you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

The Muslim world reacted angrily and resulted in many violent demonstrations where the Pope was burned in effigy. This undoubtedly spooked the Pope who feared for his life. After all, there was an attempt on the life of his predecessor. Why should he be immune to an assassin's bullet?

In November 2006, the Pope travelled to Turkey to pray at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The choice of that mosque was no accident. Constantinople was the heart of the Byzantine empire and after the fall of that empire to the Ottomans in 1453 Constantinople became Istanbul.

In November 2008, while Americans were voting for Barack Obama, the Pope had received Muslim leaders in Rome in what was called the First Meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum. This group will convene every two years. The 2010 meeting will occur in a Muslim country.

I cannot help but think that it was somehow made clear to the Pope that he would have make further pennace to Islam. What better way to do so than to bring the ex-communicated bishops back into the fold? What would send a signal to Muslims that the Pope wants to make amends than by welcoming a bishop who not only believes Jews weren't gassed in the Holocaust but believes the attacks of September 11, 2001 were carried out by the U.S government? Many Muslims and their leaders do not believe the Holocaust happened nor do they believe Muslims carried out the September 11th attacks. Given the way the Pope angered Muslims wouldn't welcoming back a bishop into the fold who openly denies the Holocaust and September 11, 2001 get the Pope back in the good graces of Muslims and their leaders? I cannot think of any other reason that would compel the Pope to welcome back a Holocaust denier and a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.