Pope Plans Apology for Church's Sins
Associated Press Online - March 07, 2000 13:46
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By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Fulfilling a major goal of his papacy, Pope John Paul II plans to deliver a historic, sweeping apology for the sins of Roman Catholics over the centuries, Vatican officials said Tuesday.
It was unclear how specific the pope would be, although the very idea has drawn opposition from some cardinals and others in the church.
The pope's homily for the Day of Pardon Mass on Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica is apparently still being written.
But a document prepared by an international group of theologians that was released in Paris last week, and statements by officials Tuesday suggested the pope will at least allude to responsibility by the Catholics in the Holocaust, the Inquisition, the Crusades and acts against other Christians in wars of religions.
Lapses by present-day Catholics, including sins against women, the poor and failure to defend against abortion, could also be included.
"The reference to errors and sins in a liturgy must be frank and capable of specifying guilt; yet given the number of sins committed in the course of 20 centuries, it must necessarily be rather summary," said Bishop Piero Marini, who is in charge of papal ceremonies.
The officials, briefing reporters on the event, also appeared to be setting limits on how such an apology should be viewed.
"It cannot assume the aspect of a spectacular self-flagellation," said Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Vatican's 2000 Jubilee Committee. The pope has campaigned for a collective examination of conscience as the church begins its third millennium.
No pope has ever gone to such lengths to seek forgiveness for past sins, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
The idea for an apology has been on the pope's mind for some time.
"What is interesting is that it is always the pope and the Catholic church who asked forgiveness while others remained silent," John Paul told reporters while flying to Brazil in 1997. "Maybe that is as it should be."
When the pope was planning celebrations for 2000, the Vatican acknowledged that some cardinals wanted him to look ahead and not backward through the church's history.
The theological commission document also spoke of reservations raised by those worried that an admission of fault by Catholics "may look like acquiescence in the face of accusations made by those prejudicially hostile to the church."
During the ceremony Sunday, the pope is expected to drop to his knees in prayer.
The theological document released last week broke little new ground and was instead intended to provide the context for the pope's call for a "purification" of the church.
On the Holocaust, the document said it was important to keep a "moral and religious memory" of the injury inflicted on Jews.
"In this area, much has already been done, but this should be confirmed and deepened," the document said.
Some Jews were upset that the Vatican's landmark 1998 document on the Holocaust did not condemn the church hierarchy for any failures to save Jews.
The Vatican and John Paul have consistently defended Pope Pius XII, who served during World War II and is a candidate for beatification.
Israeli Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau said the latest reference to the Holocaust was "quite disappointing."
"It adds nothing to the low-key statements made in the past," he said. "It is impossible to correct a crime of the past without any mention, for example, of Pius XII when he stood on the blood of the victims and did not say a word."
And an Italian gay rights group complained that the document failed to ask forgiveness for the treatment of homosexuals, calling them "the most numerous victims of theocratic violence, in the past as today."
The church condemns homosexual acts.
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