His Red Shoes Stepped Right In It

My my my.

Pope Benedict XVI decided to lift the excommunication of a British bishop who denies that Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers.

Benny decided on Saturday to 'bring back into the Catholic Church's fold' Bishop Richard Williamson and three other bishops who belong to the Society of Saint Pius X--which was founded by Archbishop Lefebrve, who consecrated the men in unsanctioned ceremonies. As a result, Pope John Paul II excommunicated the four in 1988.

The Vatican's decision to lift the excommunication comes on the heels of a Swedish television interview, where one Bishop Richard Williamson claimed the Nazis did not use gas chambers.

"I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against -- is hugely against -- 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler....I believe there were no gas chambers."

Six million gone. Poof. Where did they go, Dick? Did Carnival have a special cruise ship sail up the river and take away the Jews for vacation? Where, exactly, did these mothers and fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles....people....go?

Then Dick said: "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, but none of them by gas chambers."

Let me do the math. Six million minus three-hundred-thousand equals five-million-seven-hundred-thousand. Oh. Well, then, in the words of Emily Litella:

Never mind.

The good news is that Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany, and officials are looking into what this man of 'God' said. Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee denounced Pope Benedict's act "shameful," and said, by "welcoming an open holocaust denier into the Catholic Church without any recantation on his part, the Vatican has made a mockery of John Paul II's moving and impressive repudiation and condemnation of anti-Semitism."

Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League director, was also angered by Benny's decision. "The decree sends a terrible message to Catholics around the world that there is room in the church for those who would undermine the church's teaching and would foster disdain and contempt for other religions, particularly Judaism. Given the centuries-long history of anti-Semitism in the church, this is a most troubling setback."

Even the Vatican's own spokesman Father Federico Lombardi called Williamson's remarks "absolutely indefensible." But then he made his point. Accepting Williamson back into the fold would 'normalize' relations with the ultra-conservative group.

It's political, y'all. Let's get all the ultra-conservative ducks in a row.

Even Pope Benny has said that, and I quote so as to get the real word out, so there is no misunderstanding, dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims "in the strict sense of the word" was "not possible."

Not possible?

How welcoming. How God-like. How nice. Of course, this comes from a man who says he was 'forced' to join the Hitler Youth on his 14th birthday.