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Bishop who denied Holocaust apologizes to pope By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer VATICAN CITY – A bishop recently rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI expressed regret Friday to the pontiff for the "distress and problems" he caused by denying the Holocaust. In a letter to the Vatican, Bishop Richard Williamson, who recently denied in a TV interview that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, called his remarks "imprudent." The letter was posted on Williamson's personal blog and addressed to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who has been dealing with the rehabilitation of Williamson and other renegade bishops who had...

(IsraelNN.com) In a move that many Jewish community officials said would cause relations between Jews and Catholics to further deteriorate, the Vatican on Saturday lifted an excommunication ban against Bishop Richard Williamson, one of four bishops who were banned in 1988 for taking on the office of bishop against the wishes of then-Pope John Paul II. Williamson is a Holocaust denier, and has repeatedly said that the gas chambers did not exist and that no more than 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II, mostly of starvation. In addition, Williamson has declared that the Jews are plotting to take...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The leader of the largest U.S. Roman Catholic archdiocese apologized on Sunday for what he called a "terrible sin and crime" as the church confirmed it would pay a record $660 million to people who were sexually abused by priests. Facing trial on Monday over abuse allegations dating as far back as the 1940s, the Archdiocese led by Cardinal Roger Mahony agreed to pay 508 victims the largest-ever group settlement. "I have come to understand far more deeply that I ever could the impact of this terrible sin and crime that has affected their lives," said...