Pope praised for historic liturgy of forgiveness

During a March 12 Mass at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II asked pardon for wrongs committed in the past by members of the church. After the homily on the jubilee day for the purification of memory, he and seven members of the Roman Curia specified seven categories of sin and prayed for pardon in each of them. Sins committed in the service of truth represented one of the seven categories.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Vatican congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, read the prayer introducing this area of concern. "Even men of the church, in the name of faith and morals, have sometimes used methods not in keeping with the Gospel in the solemn duty of defending the truth," Ratzinger said. The pope added in his prayer that "in certain periods of history Christians have at times given in to intolerance and have not been faithful to the great commandment of love. Truth can prevail only in virtue of truth itself."

Sins related to a lack of respect for the rights of peoples, their cultures, and religions were encompassed by another category of sin during the service at the Vatican. The pope said: "yielding to a mentality of power, [Christians] have violated the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures and religious traditions."

Could such statements damage the church’s current missionary efforts? Archbishop Marcello Zago, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Evengelization of Peoples, commented on this after the service. "The fact that the church recognized its historical responsibility can aid [missionary work] rather than damage it," Zago said. He said missionaries have been guilty of past failures to respect local cultures, especially in Latin America and in Asia.

Part of the problem was "the lack of the church’s preparation to open itself to these realities," Zago said. At the same time, however, some missionaries "protested and intervened with energy to defend local cultures," he said.

Zago said he expected the church’s examination of past wrongs to prompt a new focus on the issue of inculturation, "one of the greatest challenges of the new millennium." He said that the humble admission of fault could inspire "other religions to ask themselves if their way of life is always conformed to their identity." Despite the risk of being misunderstood, Zago added, "the church has the role of promoting new atttitudes."

For example, he said, the agencies of society today, both political and secular, should ask themselves not only "about the type of colonization [they] carried out in past centuries, but also about the ways aid is distributed today, not always disinterestedly."

The service of pardon at the Vatican came just a little over a week before the pope was to depart for his visit to Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories. Thus, his comments related to past wrongs committed against the Jews came under particular scrutiny.

Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, gave the opening prayer in the "confession of sins against the people of Israel." He said that "in recalling the sufferings endured by the people of Israel throughout history, Christians will acknowledge the sins committed by not a few of their number against the people of the covenant."

Then the pope added: "God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your name to the nations: 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 with the people of the covenant."

Some Jewish leaders objected, holding that the pope should have been more specific about the Holocaust. In Israel, chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau welcomed the pope’s words, but said the church should apologize for the actions of Pope Pius XII during World War II, which many Jews feel were inadequate.

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith said that in failing to mention the Holocaust specifically, the pope "missed a historic opportunity to bring closure" to Christian responsibility for sin against Jews.

However, the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Rabbinical Assembly issued a statement three days after the Vatican service praising the pope’s overall leadership in Catholic-Jewish relations. The statement said:

"We praise Pope John Paul II’s courageous strides in working to heal the historic breach that has separated our communities. The pope has affirmed the irrevocable nature of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. He has condemned anti-Semitism as a ‘sin against God.’ He has forged diplomatic relations with Israel, recognizing the Jewish state’s right to exist within secure borders. He has called upon Christendom to engage in teshuva for the atrocities of the Holocaust. He has apologized for the excesses of the Crusades and the Inquisition. He has opposed Christian missionizing toward the Jews, instead urging the intensification of Jewish piety. In this context, we welcome and applaud Pope John Paul II’s historic liturgy of forgiveness, presented to the global community.