Catholic and Enjoying It!
Text of the letter sent to 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
It’s not a perfect apology since his remarks were not, you know, “imprudent” but wrong. Still and all, it’s a manly acknowledgement of guilt and should be honored with forgiveness and mercy. The reaction of should be interesting. I suspect the enemies of the Church who are always banging on about how the Church is all about guilt and shame will suddenly discover that the Church is (like her Lord) scandalously merciful and go on calling for Williamson’s (and Benedict’s) heads. Guys like Andrew Sullivan won’t just let this golden opportunity to bash Benedict go out of some interest in Christian mercy. There are too many political points to be scored!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In