Scott over at about.com and Deacon Greg have the info here:
The apology is dated January 28, 2009, and the text below is from the traditionalist website Rorate Caeli:
To His Eminence Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos
Your Eminence
Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.
For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:
“Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”
Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.
Sincerely yours in Christ
+Richard Williamson
Most unexpected. My initial inclination was that this Bishop might not even reconcile when the rest of the Society does–but now perhaps he’s seeing things differently?
At the same time, he doesn’t renounce what he believes to be true about the Holocaust. He simply apologizes for making things hard on the Vatican officials. Perhaps an apology to the Jews might also be in order here? Or perhaps, something else is at play here–something that may humble all of us who have been offended by his remarks.
The London Telegraph reports that Williamson may indeed be dying of cancer and that perhaps these statements may be attributable to this illness. In other words, he may not indeed know what he is saying at times because the cancer may be effecting his brain. Given his long track record this seems unlikely, but not completely out of the question.
Rumours have surfaced that Bishop Williamson, the SSPX bishop whose Holocaust denial has caused such horror, is seriously ill with cancer. Father Z passes on a report in La Repubblica that the bishop – whose excommunication was lifted at the weekend – “has a tumour and is dying”.
Similar reports have reached me, but I haven’t wanted to print them without some sort of confirmation. Apparently Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos has asked for prayers for Williamson, whose recent statements – outrageous even by his standards – may be attributable, in part, to his illness.
Meanwhile, I address the issue in a more reflective and prayerful matter in this week’s Busted Halo Cast in the Out of the Haze segment. Check it out.
