German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the Catholic Church Tuesday, saying it had not spoken out clearly enough in rejection of Holocaust denial, dpa reported.
She was entering a controversy that has continued to grow this week in Germany, the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI, over the end of a punishment handed out 21 years ago to an ultra-conservative, Richard Williamson, and three other leaders of a schismatic movement.
Speaking to reporters, Merkel called on the pope to speak bluntly on the issue.
"If a decision of the Vatican gives rise to the impression that the Holocaust may be denied, this cannot be left to stand," she said.
"It's a matter of affirming very clearly on the part of the pope and the Vatican that there must be no denial here."
Merkel, who is a Lutheran, added that this affirmation had not been given clearly enough.
British-born Williamson, who lives in Argentina, has incensed many Germans by denying there were gas chambers at the Nazis' death camp in Auschwitz and alleging the scale of deaths of Jews under the Nazis was no more than "200,000 to 300,000."
Last week the pope ended the excommunication of four bishops who lead the Society of Saint Pius X, a movement with 600,000 members.