MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Pope Benedict XVI Sunday, urging the leader of the world's Catholics to expel a bishop who denies the Holocaust.
Germany's Catholic bishops also are seeking Richard Williamson's ouster from the church, CNN reported.
Williamson, a Briton living in Argentina who had been excommunicated in 21 years ago, was welcomed back into the church by the pope last month, though his role as a priest and bishop were held in abeyance.
"It was a very constructive conversation," Merkel's office and the Vatican said in a joint statement, which revealed no other details about the call between the political and spiritual leaders.
German Archbishop Robert Zollitsch said Saturday the church should expel Williamson, who belongs to an ultra-conservative group that split off after Pope John Paul II excommunicated him and three other bishops in 1988.
"Mr. Williamson is impossible and irresponsible," said Zollitsch, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference.
Days before the pope lifted his excommunication, Williamson denied the Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War II. Williamson said Saturday he needed to take time to find proof that the mass killings took place.
