AJC Slams Polish Bishop's Holocaust Denial

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Jan 25, 2010, 03:51 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemned Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, one of the leading figures in the Polish Catholic Church, for describing the Holocaust as a "Jewish invention" in an interview with an Italian Catholic news website.

Pieronek also accused Israel of turning the Holocaust into "propaganda" and called for Palestinians to be commemorated through a day similar to International Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls on January 27.

"Bishop Pieronek's shameful lies, broadcast in a week when the world reflects on the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis, must be swiftly and unreservedly condemned by the Polish Catholic Church and the Vatican," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. AJC also urged that Pieronek be disciplined by his superior, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the Archbishop of Krakow.

"After the recent controversy involving Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson, we expect the Vatican to act decisively against all manifestations of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism within the Church," said Harris. "Bishop Pieronek's odious comments highlight why such action is sorely needed."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee