I vehemently regret the unforfunate statements recently made by SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson, who criticized Pope Benedict for “enabling journalists to jump to the conclusion that the Jews must no longer be held responsible for deicide.”

The Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent), issued in 1566, teaches that

sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured …We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt.

And it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater in us than in the Jews. As for them, according to the witness of the Apostle, “None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” We, however, profess to know him. And when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him.

 

See also:

The SSPX, Jews, and Authority: A new outcry against negotiations with the Society of Saint Pius X leads me to reflect on what is, and is not, wrong with those whose sense of religious freedom leads them to try to be more Catholic than the Pope.