Vatican rejects bishop's apology

VATICAN CITY, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- An apology issued by a Roman Catholic bishop who denied the Holocaust on Swedish television was called unacceptable by the Vatican Friday.

Spokesman Federico Lombardi said the apology made by Bishop Richard Williamson "does not seem to respect the conditions" set out by the Vatican's secretary of state, the Italian news agency ANSA reports.

In his apology, Williamson, 68, didn't specifically retract his position that the Nazis killed only 300,000 Jews, not 6 million, and did not use gas chambers. Instead, Williamson expressed "regret" for his position.

Lombardi called the apology "generic and equivocal."

Williamson, who belongs to the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, was rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI last month after being excommunicated along with other Saint Pius X bishops in 1988.

The Vatican says the pope was unaware of Williamson's views when he lifted the excommunication.