Catholic fundamentalists ordain four priests in Germany

Jul 2, 2011, 10:57 GMT

Zaitzkofen, Germany - A breakaway fundamentalist Catholic group, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), began Saturday the ordination of four priests in Germany, ignoring past protests by the Vatican.

A rightist leader of the group, Richard Williamson, is to face a court case on Monday in the nearby city of Regensburg for publicly doubting that historical accounts of the Holocaust are true.

SSPX said four men - a Pole, a Belgian, a Swiss and an Austrian - were being consecrated as priests at the annual ordination ceremony. It was being conducted by Bernard Fellay, the movement's superior and bishop, at an SSPX seminary in Zaitzkofen, Germany.

The Vatican has repeatedly said the ultra-conservatives' annual ordinations are unauthorized. However it has repealed earlier penalties against Fellay, Williamson and two other bishops for accepting and conferring such ordinations.

The group has rejected changes in Catholic theology and prayer since the 1960s.

On Monday, Williamson, 71, will be appealing against a conviction for incitement to hatred and a 10,000-euro (14,400-dollar) fine for saying the Nazi gas chambers never existed during a 2008 interview recorded by Swedish television at Zaitzkofen.