As a Matter of Fairness

As reader Cassandra pointed out, Mr. Gonzalez has written a "clarification" based on his remarks, and has kindly translated them and his original article into English.

Scroll to Bottom for Original English

Scroll to Bottom for "Clarification"

Now my brief thoughts:


What are those "other aspects" which he is not qualified to talk about as a historian that belong in the academic sphere?  Even Bishop Richard Williamson of the SSPX flatly affirms that Jews died in concentration camps, and that the event of them being in those camps and dying could be called the "Holocaust."  Yet he also denies any Jews died in the gas chambers, and that the idea they did was a Zionist concoction meant to garner sympathy for Jews to establish the state of Israel.  That's also the position of Iran's leaders.  In other words, denying the Holocaust.  I'll allow for the fact that things get lost in translation, but I believe Mr. Gonzalez missed the point.

What is the "Jewish narrative" about the Holocaust, and where are concrete examples of it being offered today.  Are any Jews denying that Gentiles died in the Holocaust?  Are any Catholics?  It is akin to quoting the Talmud's rather unsavory (to say the least!) things about Christ and the Blessed Virgin.  On the one hand, they are pretty established facts of history.  On the other, if I meet a Jew, should I hate him because he thinks  my Savior is rotting in feces and that His mother was a harlot?  The overwhelming majority of those I meet will not think or say this.  If they bring it up, then hey, we got issues, and we will solve those issues.

So by bringing up the "remember Gentiles died in the death camps as well", there really isn't any record of anyone saying otherwise.  One can affirm Gentiles died in the Holocaust and use that fact to demonstrate the utter depravity of the Nazis.  Yet you also have to affirm that they specifically targeted Jews for discrimination as they came to power, that their death camps on the whole had a majority jewish population, and that as the war came to an end, they began an extermination campaign that was brutal in its efficiency and something the world had never seen before, and hopefully will never see again.

In the end, all of this is settled historical fact.  While I suppose in some alternative universe, one can remain a Catholic in good standing while disputing this stuff, we have to acknowledge the real universe we live in.  If you are denying facts of this order, it is either through deep ignorance (which is curable albeit unlikely), or because you have a serious agenda that sustains itself by conspiracy theorizing (a sin against charity) which is prone to rhetorical outbursts which are further sins against charity.  We might as well be arguing over whether or not the earth is flat.  Sure, not technically against the faith, but it takes an approach to science the Catholic Church rejects, and it requires willfully blinding yourself to truth to arrive at that conclusion.

To the little bubble that is the Argentinean Traditionalist/SSPX blogosphere, these might seem like hot issues.  To the Church at large, they scratch their heads.  If this is what traditionalists spend their time talking about, who in their right mind would associate with such a movement?  Thankfully we don't spend our time on this nonsense.