Holocaust Deniers and the Tyranny of Thought

The Pope is now apologizing for the beliefs of a Bishop about the Holocaust. Bishop Richard Williamson believes that gas chambers were used to cleanse Jews but doesn't believe that any were actually killed in them. For this, he may face expulsion.

Lest I get labeled as a Holocaust denier, let me just say that his claim seems absolutely absurd. And for that reason it doesn't need to be censored - just outed. If someone says, "It is not raining outside," when it is, you don't have to shut him up - you just have to point people's attention to the weather outside. Ideas do not need to be censored or promoted - they need to be thought through and proved or disproved (or left in the category of indeterminate) on the basis of logic or evidence.

Rather than order this Bishop to recant, how much more powerful would it be to force him to defend his beliefs in a public forum where he'd be forced to confront testimony and proof from tens to hundreds of thousands of people and sources?

We don't want to teach children that ideas can be dismissed as wrong or absurd by authority. It is better to teach them why some ideas get discarded as ineffectual or evil or simply stupid. The point is not to approve or disprove ideas based on the power of the authorities behind the ideas; the point is to approve or disprove authority based on the power of the ideas behind the authorities. Freedom is a package deal.