PR and the Pope

You’ve no doubt heard by now: Pope Benedict, for no good reason, welcomed an anti-Semitic bishop back into the church’s good graces. Only that’s not what happened, and the Vatican’s PR failures only made things worse.

From USA Today
By Philip F. Lawler

"We didn't control the communications," lamented Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Jesuit priest who heads the Vatican press office.

That was putting it mildly.

By now the whole world knows — or thinks it knows — the story behind Father Lombardi's lament. On Jan. 24, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of four bishops from a traditionalist group known as the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). Within hours of that announcement it emerged that one of those prelates, Bishop Richard Williamson, had questioned the severity of the Holocaust during a recent television interview. Jewish leaders and editorial writers erupted in understandable outrage, and what began as an effort to heal a rift within the church became an ugly public dispute.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Merkel, Yad Vashem Welcome Vatican Statement As Chancellor Faces Criticism

From Catholic World News

The chairman of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, welcomed Wednesday’s Vatican statement calling upon Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X to retract his statements on the Holocaust. “When the highest moral authority of the Church states that Holocaust denial is unacceptable, that is a vital message for the entire world,” said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev.

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the statement as an “important and good signal,” she faced criticism for publicly calling upon Pope Benedict to speak out against Bishop Williamson. “Much of what is being imputed to the pope is almost malicious, and certainly not fair,” said Norbert Lammert, the speaker of the parliament. Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich also criticized the chancellor. “The pope took a clear position against any form of Holocaust denial,” he said. “To suggest that the pope would tolerate anti-Semitism is outrageous.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Pope's Call for Bishop to Retract Holocaust Claim Welcomed (Deutsche Welle)