In religious news. Pope Benedict has revoked the excommunication of four conservative bishops who were removed from the church two decades ago for opposing the modernization of the church. All four bishops are members of the Society of Saint Pius X, a deeply conservative and traditional group that was founded to protest the changes spurred by Vatican II. Jewish groups condemned the Pope’s decision because one of the Bishops, Richard Williamson, is a well known Holocaust denier.

Robert Rozett of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum: “We believe the question of excommunicating or not excommunicating a member of the Church is an internal matter for the Church. Nevertheless, we find it scandalous that a member of the Church at this high level, a bishop, has views of denying the Holocaust. Such views are an insult to the memory of the Holocaust, to the victims and to the survivors, to those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust and, more than anything else, to truth, to historical truth. We continue to hope that the Vatican will take concerted efforts to condemn these views and the people that hold such views.”