The guy (Richard Williamson) was not originally excommunicated for being a Holocaust-denier, he was excommunicated for refusing Vatican II.  And then he was brought back as a means of reconciliation, it just so happening that he denies the Holocaust (or its extent anyways.)  Could we bracket that and say, okay, you’re welcome back to the Church, but now that you’re here, you’re officially sanctioned and silenced (or put under threat of re-excommunication) because of what you’ve said about our friends the Jews?  Just a thought.

Read more here and here.

This morning, Benedict made his first public comments on the controversy, telling pilgrims in his weekly audience in Vatican City that he feels “full and indisputable” solidarity with Jews and repudiating the idea of denying the Holocaust.

According to an Associated Press account of his remarks, Benedict said the memory of the Holocaust should “prompt humanity to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the hearts of men.”