Merkel faces party backlash over Vatican criticism

Feb 5, 2009, 14:47 GMT

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced criticism from within her Christian Democratic (CDU) party Thursday over her call for the pope to take a clearer stand on Bishop Richard Williamson's anti-Holocaust views.

The speaker of parliament, Norbert Lammert, told the daily Hamburger Abendblatt that 'much of what is being imputed to the pope is almost malicious, and certainly not fair.'

'Doubting the position of the Catholic church and the pope in this matter is, in my opinion, entirely baseless,' he added, in comments indirectly critical of his party leader.

Pope Benedict's decision last month to re-admit the British-born Williamson, along with three other ultra-conservative bishops, into the church caused an uproar, especially in the pontiff's native Germany.

The German chancellor added her voice to the debate Tuesday, when she called on the pope to speak out bluntly on Williamson's denial that the Nazis killed 5 million to 6 million European Jews during the Second World War.

Following Merkel's remarks, the Vatican Wednesday issued a statement saying the ultra-conservative Bishop Williamson needs to distance himself 'clearly and publicly' from remarks he made denying the Holocaust, before he can 'assume functions' within the Roman Catholic Church.

Inside the Vatican, however, there is reportedly anger at Merkel's involvement in an internal church appointment that was originally an attempt by the pope to heal a rift within the Catholic Church.

Georg Brunnhuber, of the CDU, spoke in person to the pope Wednesday.

'People in the Vatican are downright appalled at the discussion in Germany,' he told daily Financial Times Deutschland.

This has given the impression, he added, 'that all anti-Catholic resentments slumbering in Germany are now rising to the surface.'

Catholics are a sizeable minority in Germany, making up one-third of the population. There is a long history of animosity between Catholics and Lutherans.

Brunnhuber said that Merkel, who is Lutheran, has come up against opposition within the party. 'Many CDU members think the allegations of the chancellor are not right.'

The Catholic archbishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx, speaking to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, also expressed surprise at Merkel's criticism of the pope.

'The pope took a clear position against any form of Holocaust denial,' Marx told the paper. To suggest that the pope would tolerate anti-Semitism, he said, 'is outrageous.'

The World Jewish Congress and the Central Council of Jews in Germany have welcomed the pope's demand for Williamson to withdraw his statements denying the Holocaust before he can be fully re-admitted to the church.

Merkel's call on Tuesday for the pope to clarify his stance on Bishop Williamson's rhetoric has been broadly supported by Germans, many of whom had expressed outrage at the pope's initial decision.