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Argentine seminary ousts Williamson as its leader

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-09 16:22

BUENOS AIRES -- The Argentine seminary led by Bishop Richard Williamson has ousted the British born cleric and repudiated his statements denying that Nazis used gas chambers to kill Jews during World War II.

View of the Nuestra Senora Corredentora seminary in La Reja, west of Buenos Aires. The Argentine seminary led by Bishop Richard Williamson has ousted the British born cleric and repudiated his statements denying that Nazis used gas chambers to kill Jews during World War II. [Agencies]

"Statements by Monsignor Williamson in no way reflect the position of our congregation," the Saint Pius X Society for Latin America said in a statement issued at the weekend.

"It is clear that a Catholic bishop cannot speak with ecclesiastical authority except on matters concerning faith and morality," said the statement issued by the the seminary, which is located outside the capital Buenos Aires.

Pope Benedict XVI has come under fire for lifting the excommunication of Williamson, who has not recanted his position.