Richard Williamson (bishop)
Richard Williamson | |
|---|---|
| 'Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Society of Saint Pius X' | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29 June 1976[1] by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Consecration | 30 June 1988[1] by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Richard Nelson Williamson |
| Born | 8 March 1940 London, England |
| Died | 29 January 2025 (aged 84) Margate, England |
| Denomination | Traditionalist Catholic, Catholic |
| Alma mater | Winchester College,[2] University of Cambridge,[2] International Seminary of Saint Pius X[3] |
| Motto | Fidelis inveniatur[4] |
Ordination history of Richard Williamson | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Richard Nelson Williamson (8 March 1940 – 29 January 2025) was an English traditionalist Catholic bishop. He was known for being against the changes in the church brought about by the Second Vatican Council. In 1988, Williamson was one of four Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) priests illicitly consecrated as bishops.[7][8]
Early life
[change | change source]Williamson was born on 8 March 1940 in London[9], England.[10] Williamson attended Winchester College before going on to study at Clare College, Cambridge, where he received a degree in English literature.[11]
Career
[change | change source]After graduating, he taught at a college in Ghana for a short time.[10] He was originally an Anglican, but became a Roman Catholic in 1971.[12] He became a member of the Society of Saint Pius X, as he was against liberalism in the Second Vatican Council.[10] In 1976, he became a priest after being supported by Marcel Lefebvre.[11]
Williamson moved to the United States and became rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1983.[11][13]
Controversial views
[change | change source]Holocaust denial
[change | change source]A controversial figure, Williamson has said that he believed that no more than 200,000 to 300,000 Jews were killed during the Holocaust and that Nazi Germany did not use gas chambers. Because of this, he was charged with and convicted of Holocaust denial by the district court of Regensburg, Germany.[14] Pope Benedict XVI did not know Williamson's views when he ended his excommunication.[15] He later said that Williamson would remain suspended from his episcopal role until his changed his Holocaust views.[16][2] In 2010, Williamson was convicted of incitement in a German court in relation to those views.[17] He was convicted again on this charge in a retrial in early 2013.[18]
Conspiracy theories
[change | change source]Williamson supports conspiracy theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and that the World Trade Center was destroyed on purpose by the U.S. government.[19] He has also said that the 7 July 2005 London bombings were an "inside job" and believed there was going to be a nuclear attack on the London Olympics in 2012.[20]
In Argentina, Williamson became a cult figure for the far-right seminarians.[21]
Death
[change | change source]On 25 January 2025, Williamson was hospitalized in Margate, England after having a brain hemorrhage.[22] He was given his last rites at hospital the same day.[23][24] He died four days later on 29 January, at the age of 84.[25]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chow, Gabriel. "Bishops who are not Ordinaries of Sees: WI... – WN..." GCatholic.org. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Owen, Richard; Gledhill, Ruth (5 February 2009). "Pope insists Bishop Richard Williamson must renounce Holocaust denial". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ↑ https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bwilliamn.html
- ↑ 1 Cor 4:2 DRB. NVUL: that a man be found faithful ·ut fidelis quis inveniatur |italic=unset}}
- ↑ "Bp Michał Stobnicki - NON POSSUMUS". FSSPXR NON POSSUMUS (in Polish). 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ↑ "Eleison Comments DCCCXXXV". St. Marcel Initiative. 15 July 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ↑ "Apostolic Letter 'Ecclesia Dei' of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II". La Santa Sede. 2 July 1988. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ↑ Magister, Sandro (28 January 2009). "No More Excommunication for the Lefebvrists. But Peace Is Still Far Off". L'espresso. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ↑ Richard Williamson, catholic-hierarchy.org
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Taylor, Jerome Taylor (26 February 2009). "Bishop on the run: Holocaust denier back in Britain | Expelled from Argentina for his views on the Holocaust, a Catholic sect leader returns to country where he was born". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Arco, Anna (5 March 2008). "Lefebvrists face crisis as bishop is exposed as 'dangerous' anti-Semite". The Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
- ↑ Walker, Peter (25 February 2009). "Profile: Richard Williamson | British bishop's controversial views extend beyond the Holocaust to the September 11 attacks, Freemasons and women". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ↑ "Holocaust-denying bishop lived in Minn. 15 years". MPR News. 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ↑ "Holocaustleugnung: Bischof Williamson verurteilt". 17 April 2010.
- ↑ "Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre (March 10, 2009)". La Santa Sede. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news. I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility.
- ↑ Magister, Sandro (4 February 2009). "Double Disaster at the Vatican: Of Governance, and of Communication". L'espresso. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ↑ "Prozess von Holocaust-Leugner muss neu aufgerollt werden". Hamburger Abendblatt. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ↑ "German court convicts British Holocaust-denying bishop", Haaretz/Associated Press, 16 January 2013
- ↑ Koch, Einar (4 February 2009). "Bishop Williamson's mad conspiracy theories — How could the pope rehabilitate him? | 'The Jews created Holocaust' and 'US planned 9/11'". Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ↑ Coppen, Luke (26 July 2012). "Morning Catholic must-reads: 26/07/12". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ↑ Profile: Richard Williamson
- ↑ Galici, Francesca. "In gravi condizioni il vescovo tradizionalista Richard Williamson: ecco chi è". Il Giornale. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ↑ Pentin, Edward [@EdwardPentin] (January 25, 2025). "Former SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson, 84, was admitted to hospital yesterday evening with a brain haemorrhage and has received the Sacraments" (Tweet). Retrieved January 25, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Former SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson Is Dying". Novus Ordo Watch. 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ↑ Wright, S. D. (29 January 2025). "RIP Bishop Richard Williamson". The WM Review. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Eleison Comments A weekly column in five languages by Bishop Richard Williamson.