The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians this Sunday speaks of humanity's transgressions before God. Pope Benedict XVI late last week acknowledged "mistakes" in the way the Vatican lifted the excommunication of four bishops from a breakaway Catholic group, including a prelate who had denied that Jews died in Nazi gas chambers.

In a letter issued on March 12 to Roman Catholic bishops around the world, the pope described as an "unforeseen mishap" the case of British-born Richard Williamson, one of the four bishops belonging to the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X.

"I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on," Benedict, 81, said in the letter. "I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news."

The pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, on February 27 said Williamson must publicly retract his views on the Holocaust before he can be officially reinstated. Until now Williamson's apologies have been "generic and ambiguous," Lombardi said.

Source: Articles by Bloomberg.com and Ecumenical News International