The Vatican has ordered a bishop who denied that Jews were gassed in chambers during the Holocaust , to publicly recant his views if he wants to serve as a senior cleric in the Roman Catholic Church. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Vatican also said the traditionalist movement Richard Williamson belongs to must accept all teachings of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which urged respect for Judaism and other religions, as well as all the teachings of the popes since 1958.

"Williamson, must in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions regarding the Shoah," a statement said, using the Hebrew word for Holocaust.
His views on the Holocaust were "absolutely unacceptable and firmly rejected by the Holy Father [Pope Benedict XVI]," it added. Williamson told Swedish television in an interview last year that he believed "there were no gas chambers".
He also said no more than 300,000 Jews died in Nazi concentration camps, rather than the six million accepted by mainstream historians.
Williamson later apologised to the pope "for the unnecessary distress" he caused him, but has not yet recanted his statements.
The Vatican said the pope was not aware of Williamson's denial of the Holocaust when the pontiff lifted excommunication orders on him and three other traditionalist bishops last month.
Source: Al Jazeera

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict decided to rehabilitate a bishop who denies the Holocaust with little consultation inside the Vatican, where some prelates fear his action will have a lasting impact on relations with Jews.
The move outraged Jews and progressive Catholics, and Church sources said it reflected Benedict's autocratic style in running the 1.1 billion-member Church, unlike his predecessor John Paul II who consulted widely.
"The pope obviously did not tell the people he knew would likely oppose it," said one Church source.
British-born Richard Williamson, one of four traditionalist bishops whose excommunications were lifted on Saturday, has made statements denying the full extent of the Holocaust of European Jews as accepted by mainstream historians.
Williamson told Swedish television: "I believe there were no gas chambers" and no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, instead of 6 million.
"...only a handful of people knew this was coming," the source said, talking on condition of anonymity.
It was clear that Vatican spokesmen were not ready for the storm of criticism that followed Williamson's reinstatement. Some Jews said it could wipe out half a century of dialogue.
"The Vatican's damage control machine has gone into high gear," said one source. "It recalls the post-Regensburg period," he added, referring the controversial 2006 papal speech which Muslims saw as an insult to their religion.
Source: Reuters