A Pope Apologises

A Pope Apologises
Originally uploaded by flickr photographerno1

photo courtesy
www.catholicpressphoto.com/servizi/2006-08-06-angelus-cas...



The Catholic apologies of 1998 and 2000 are different from those of other denominations:
Apologies are on behalf of some unidentified "sons and daughters" of the church, but not on behalf of the church itself.
The apologies are vaguely worded so that it is sometimes difficult to identify which past atrocity is being referred to.
It does not include any mention of present behavior that is sinful or deficient.
It does not describe any plan to prevent the recurrence in the future of past crimes against humanity.
The Church teaches that, as an institution, it is pure and without fault. It was created by Christ and is maintained by God to be free of error, in the past, present, and future. It is only individual church members and leaders who have sinned.
Pope John Paul II's apology was opposed by many Vatican leaders. Some church leaders felt that a confession of past errors might cause many Roman Catholics to wonder whether the church is currently engaged in sinful behavior that will require some future pope to apologize for sins committed by the church leadership in the early 21st century. Most often, policies that are directly or indirectly linked to human sexuality are mentioned, including the church's:
Ban on divorce,
Ban on contraception,
Ban on in-vitro fertilization, and
Treatment of homosexual orientation as an objectively disordered state.
However, John Paul believed that repentance will transform the church and enable it to lead the world into a "new springtime of Christianity." He was able to overrule the Vatican Curia.



On 2000-MAR-1, in Paris, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church held a press conference which, according to Reuters, "outlined a framework for seeking forgiveness for past errors without necessarily admitting responsibility for them."
1 The French translation of a new church document: "Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past" was released. It had been prepared over a three year interval by a papal commission, the International Theological Commission, under the auspices of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. It contains "some 90 pages, divided into 6 chapters." 8 The document was published in time for the church's ''Request for Forgiveness'' theme day on 2000-MAR-12. This was synchronized with the first Sunday in Lent, a traditional time of penitence. This is one of many special observances associated with the Church's millennium celebration in the Jubilee year, 2000.

Memory and Reconciliation" acknowledges that individuals within the Church have committed serious errors in the past. Father Jean-Louis Brugues, one of the report's authors stated: "We have mentioned a few errors, but we could have had a very long list, too long a list. I fear the list will never be finished." He continued: "The Christians of today are not responsible for the errors of the 19th or 16th century. We are not responsible for errors we did not commit...We have had to find a way to liberate and purify memory without talking about responsibility.''
Pope John Paul II's verbal apology
Bishop Piero Marini, the official in charge of papal ceremonies, described a series of apologies which were to be made from Roman Catholic pulpits around the world during the Day of Pardon mass, Sunday, 2000-MAR-12. He explained that "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 be necessarily be rather summary. [sic]" 3
The Pope delivered a homily during the in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He included an apology for wrong done to "women, Jews, Gypsies [Roma], other Christians, and Catholics." 4,13 Some excerpts from Pope John Paul II's speech are:
Referring to the church's relationship to Jews, the pope said: "We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood."
In an apparent reference:
to the mass murder of individuals that the church considered heretics,
to the various schisms within Christianity, and
for manifestations of religious intolerance.
the pope said: "We are asking pardon for the divisions among Christians, for the use of violence that some have committed in the service of truth and for attitudes of mistrust and hostility assumed towards followers of other religions."
According to the Toronto Star: "Though broadly worded, the petitions made reference to the historic mistreatment of women 'who are too often humiliated and marginalized;' to 'contempt for [other] cultures and religious traditions;' and to hatred for society's weakest members."

"The document acknowledges sins only by those acting in the name of the church. It does not acknowledge any sins by the church itself or those who have served as its popes..." CNN.com, 2000-MAR-7 10

"John Paul II wanted to give a complete, global vision, making reference to circumstances of the past, but without focusing on details out of respect for history." Archbishop Rino Fisichella of Rome

"It is quite a remarkable and admirable thing that a church that considers itself holy, that believes its popes are guided by the hand of God, would acknowledge and ask forgiveness for mistakes of the past. But what about the mistakes of the present? Let's hope acknowledgment of today's exclusion and rejection of women won't have to wait for whoever is pope during the next Jubilee." Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle. 15

COPURTESY www.religioustolerance.org/pope_apo.htm

My poem

Gandolfo castle Angelus time
Another Pope
A new apology
A gesture sublime
Repentance more
important than crime
Bells of forgiveness
mutedly chime


Words of an obscure
Mediaeval Emperor
Manuel II Paleologus
That at Regensburg
He had eulogized
Muslims and their Holy Prophet
Cannot be messed
Or antagonized
And the glory of Islam
Cannot be trivialized
Christian churches
Christian dreams brutalized
He thoughtfully analyzed
regretfully apologized

Manuel II Paleologus
In Byzantine history
Unidealised
Bulldozed fossilized
Dehumanized
Because of Pope Benedicts
Remarks
beatified
canonized
Sainthood
Recustomized
for ever
and ever
immortalized