Pope's Israel visit still on despite anger over readmission of Holocaust-denying bishop

Pope Benedict is still due to visit Israel in May, an Israeli official said yesterday, despite angering Jews worldwide by re-admitting a bishop who has denied the full extent of the Nazi genocide of six million Jews.

Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum and memorial decried as "scandalous" Benedict's decision to lift excommunications on British-born Bishop Richard Williamson, who has said there were no gas chambers and only 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps in World War Two.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said, however, that the pontiff's planned visit to Israel in May was not in doubt.

"We believe that the question of excommunicating or not excommunicating a member of the Roman Catholic church is an internal matter for the church," said Yad Vashem's Robert Rozet.

"Nevertheless, we find it scandalous that a member of the church at this high level of bishop has views of denying the Holocaust," Rozet said.

Asked if the Pope's decision would have an impact on his planned visit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor replied: "No. This has nothing to do with relations between states."

Williamson is one of four traditionalist bishops who were thrown out of the Roman Catholic Church in 1988 for being ordained without Vatican permission.