( CNN ) -- A Catholic bishop convicted of Holocaust denial in Germany has fired a lawyer with neo-Nazi links , the editor of the bishop 's newsletter said . Bishop Richard Williamson dismissed the lawyer , Wolfram Nahrath , on orders from his superior , Nicholas Wansbutter told CNN late Wednesday . Nahrath told CNN earlier that he had been hired to help Williamson appeal his conviction , which stemmed from doubting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler 's intention to murder Jews and denying the existence of gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp . The appeal was originally scheduled to begin next week but was delayed indefinitely because of the change of lawyers , Nahrath said . Nahrath would not say when he was hired and would not comment on his political affiliations . He did not say he had been fired and did not respond to CNN requests for comment about the matter Thursday . The German Interior Ministry said Nahrath was the leader of the far-right Wiking Jugend until authorities banned the group in 1994 . Williamson was in Germany , where Holocaust denial is a crime , when he made the remarks in an interview with Swedish television . The comments came shortly before Pope Benedict XVI lifted an excommunication on him and three other ultraconservative bishops . The Vatican said Benedict was not aware of Williamson 's views on the Holocaust when the excommunication was lifted , and the pope ordered Williamson to recant . The excommunication was not related to his Holocaust denial . Williamson was convicted of Holocaust denial in April . He did not appear in court to fight the charges . Nahrath 's father and grandfather led the Wiking Jugend before he did , according to the anti-extremist group Netz-gegen-Nazis . It said the Wiking Jugend was an imitation of the Hitler Youth , a group set up by Hitler to teach Nazi principles to children . Williamson 's order , the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X , distanced itself from his decision to hire Nahrath . The order 's superior general , Bishop Bernard Fellay , threatened to expel Williamson from the society if he stuck with his lawyer .
Bishop Richard Williamson hires , then fires , a lawyer to fight his conviction for Holocaust denial . His superior warned him to dismiss the lawyer . Williamson does not believe there were gas chambers at Auschwitz . The lawyer led a far-right group until it was banned , the German government says .