Daily Headlines: February 20, 2009

* Canada: U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about free trade and the slumping economy but not Gitmo detainees during Obama’s state visit north of the border.

* Argentina: Weeks after an Argentine seminary removed Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson the country’s government yesterday ordered him to return to Britain.

* U.S.: Is the Chamber of Commerce behind an ad campaign against Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis?

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer will lay off over 4000 employees due to the global economic decline.

Image- AP (“Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with President Barack Obama during a photo opportunity on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday Feb. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, washingtonpost.com, Mother Jones, BBC News, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist

Argentine seminary ousts Holocaust denier

An argentine seminary removed a controversial British bishop from being its leader.

Last month Pope Benedict XVI removed the excommunication of several priests including that of Monsignor Richard Williamson. Days after the Pope’s decision, Williamson publicly denied that gas chambers were used to kill Jews at Nazi concentration camps. “It was all lies, lies, lies," he said in the interview which has led to a public furor and diplomatic problems between Germany and the Vatican.

Yesterday, officials at the Argentine seminary Williamson headed came to their decision:

In a statement, Father Christian Bouchacourt, the head of the Latin American chapter of the Catholic Society St. Pius X, said Williamson had been relieved as the head of the La Reja seminary on the outskirts of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

"Monsignor Williamson's statements do not in any way reflect the position of our congregation," it said.

The past few weeks have been difficult for the Vatican not only due to Williamson’s remarks but also as a result of the alleged improprieties of the late Rev. Marcial Maciel.

Image- AFP (“Bishop Richard Williamson denies the Nazis used gas chambers during World War II.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Reuters, The Independent