wfn.org | [ENS] Holocaust 'no myth,' Presiding Bishop affirms

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Friday, December 16, 2005

Holocaust 'no myth,' Presiding Bishop affirms

Statement counters Iranian President's comments

ENS 121605-1

[ENS] Mindful of this season of Advent when Christians seek to share in
"one another's suffering," Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold condemned a
December 14 statement in which Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad called
the Holocaust a myth created by Europeans. Griswold said instead that
"the Holocaust was no myth but an event of unconscionable inhumanity."

The full text of Griswold's statement follows:

In this season of Advent, we Christians are called to reflect and
prepare ourselves for the coming of the Prince of Peace. We are mindful
that bearing one another's burdens and sharing one another's suffering
are integral to our way of life. Therefore it is with particular pain
that we read the recent statement of the President of Iran, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, declaring that the Holocaust is a myth. His words remind
us anew of the evil of bigotry and the suffering of our Jewish sisters
and brothers. The Holocaust was no myth but an event of unconscionable
inhumanity. We remember those Christians who stood with the Jews of
Europe, and we pray for forgiveness for the many more who did not. As a
church we condemn words that distort history and encourage vilification
and hatred. Instead we seek words of healing that respect the humanity we
share as children of God and open the way to a world reconciled in peace.

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