Recently, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The Vatican said the decree removing the excommunication marked an important step toward full communion with the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1970. It said some questions remain unresolved with the society, including its future status and that of its priests, and that these issues would be the subject of further talks.

The pope's decision has aroused controversy in interreligious circles, particularly in light of comments made last fall by one of the four, British-born Richard Williamson, who denied that millions of Jews were murdered during World War II. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, called such remarks unacceptable; the head of the Swiss-based Society of St. Pius X said Bishop Williamson's remarks in no way reflect the society's positions.

This week, two Religion News Service columnists offer their views of the situation.

Time to get a grip

By Phyllis Zagano

The sudden storm over Pope Benedict XVI's lifting the excommunication of four schismatic bishops reignites the slander that the Catholic Church --- or the pope himself, or God forbid, all Catholics --- is rife with anti-Semitism.

Somehow a comment by one of the bishops --- he doubts the gas chamber murders of millions of Jews were a "deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler" --- has exploded into worldwide accusations against the church.

Let's get a grip here.

The schismatic bishop in question, British-born Richard Williamson, is a 68-year-old Anglican convert who also thinks the 9/11 attacks were staged by the U.S. government; believes conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination; and objects to women wearing trousers. I would think anyone would be happy to see him under Rome's control, not out there on his own.

Williamson is one of four bishops ordained in 1988 by the late renegade Archbishop Marcel-Francois Lefebvre, who dearly wanted the Catholic Church to repudiate the reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.

There's been trouble ever since.

Lefebvre's followers, members of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), lean as far right as possible without falling out of the "Catholic" boat. Their issues once seemed mostly about style --- they prefer pre-Vatican II Latin and lace --- but troubles since Lefebvre's death are about papal authority. That's why they've been banned.

While SSPX members reject some principles of Vatican II, their biggest claim is they are the Traditional Catholics --- indeed, more Catholic than the Vatican. That's a worry for this pope, who sees Christian unity as a goal of his pontificate.

By lifting the excommunications during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Benedict underscores his drive to repair whatever cracks he can in the throne of St. Peter.

Angry commentators may want to focus on repudiated beliefs held by one or another SSPX member or cleric, but what's more important is that requesting unity with Rome means accepting papal authority and general church teaching.

It does not, unfortunately, keep people like Williamson of the power from acting or speaking like lunatics.

Benedict may eventually offer SSPX what is called personal prelature status --- a sort of diocese-without-walls that is similar to Opus Dei's structure --- that would more forcefully bring the whole crowd back into union with Rome. Since Lefebvre's followers are active in more than 16 countries and have a number of monasteries for men and women (not to mention something in the neighborhood of 600 chapels and oratories), Benedict's sole objective is to bring many lost sheep back to the fold.

That both Benedict and the Lefebvre followers lean in the same theological direction is not accidental.

One practical result of Benedict's lifting the excommunications will be greater availability of the Latin Mass, which Benedict already allowed back in 2007. Most Catholic dioceses are running out of priests willing and able to perform the Latin rites.

Another result will be the slinging of all sorts of criticism from outside the Church about how Benedict runs internal affairs. But before too much mud takes flight, maybe we can remember that the Catholic Church defines schism as "withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the church subject to him."

By lifting the excommunications, Benedict --- the fisher of men --- has flung the net over the members of SSPX. That is what was needed.

That is what it's all about.

Phyllis Zagano is a Fulbright Fellow in Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland. She also holds a research appointment at Hofstra University.

'Do not apologize'

By Rabbi A. James Rudin

Sometimes life imitates art, and sometimes life imitates Monopoly. That's what happened when Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of Richard Williamson, a British-born breakaway bishop.

It was as if Williamson received the Vatican version of a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. Do not pass go. Do not recant. Do not apologize.

Pope John Paul II excommunicated Williamson and three other bishops in 1988 when they were ordained --- in direct violation of Vatican rules --- by the late schismatic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. His group, the Society of St. Pius X, bitterly opposes many reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including the call for improved relations with Jews and Judaism.

More recently, Williamson has denied the Holocaust and the existence of Hitler's lethal gas chambers. For good measure, he also believes women "by nature" should not attend universities, and thinks the U.S. government --- not al-Qaida --- carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I'm not sure which was more surprising: that Benedict allowed the four bishops back into the church, or that he did so without any sign of repentance or regret for Williamson's statement that "the historical evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler."

Because Williamson made those comments in Germany, where it is a crime to publicly deny the mass murders of the Holocaust, German officials are considering possible legal action against the renegade bishop.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the head of the Vatican's office for Vatican-Jewish relations, told the media he had not been consulted prior to Benedict's action. "It was a decision of the pope," the cardinal said.

Benedict's decision was first met with a sense of bewilderment that quickly gave way to fierce anger. Some have called Williamson's rehabilitation a Chernobyl-like "meltdown" in Catholic-Jewish relations and the greatest threat to continued talks in a generation.

U.S., European and Israeli Jewish leaders --- including Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel --- condemned the pope's actions as a not-so-subtle repudiation of John Paul's teaching that anti-Semitism is a sin against God and humanity.

Seeking to do a little damage control, the Vatican quickly disassociated Williamson's views from mainstream Catholic teaching and his superiors imposed an immediate gag order. Church officials stress that Benedict sought only to end the schism between Rome and SSPX, nothing more, nothing less.

On Wednesday, Benedict reaffirmed the church's "solidarity" with the Jewish people, recalled the horrific evil nature of the Holocaust and the Church's condemnation of anti-Semitism. Still, severe damage has already been done, and unless and until Williamson comes forward in contrition and expresses his agreement with church teaching about the Holocaust, a dark shadow will remain over Catholic-Jewish relations.

Sadly, the current crisis is occurring at the same time we have lost two giants of the interreligious world, and two of my dearest colleagues: Rabbi Michael Signer, professor of Jewish studies at the University of Notre Dame; and Rabbi Leon Klenicki, the longtime interfaith affairs director of the Anti-Defamation League.

I knew and loved both Michael and Leon. To be sure, we attended countless conferences and meetings over the years, but as in all deep friendships, what really mattered were the shared meals and drinks, the private telephone conversations and e-mails, and the joy of communicating with two gifted and compassionate colleagues.

I always counted upon their remarkable leadership and knowledge as we labored with our Catholic colleagues to build sturdy bridges of mutual respect and understanding.

Now we are in the midst of another Catholic-Jewish crisis, and Michael and Leon are no longer with us to guide, lead and comfort us. They are sorely missed.

Rabbi A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee's senior interreligious adviser, is the author of "The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us."