DEBUNKING THE MISINTERPRETATION OF ANTI-CATHOLICS ON POPE JOHN PAUL II APOLOGY FOR THE SINS OF THE CHRISTIANS. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Recently i have discovered that many Anti-Catholics are saying that Pope John Paul II asked for the sins of the Church just to prove that the Catholic Church is sinful. However, these chaps interpret JPIIs apology produced in a document called; MEMORY AND RECONCILIATION at the close of the year 2000 AD in a wrong way imbued with Anti-Catholicism. A deep look through the document however reveals the opposite. Pope John Paul II made a unique and historic “request for pardon” for the sins and errors of Christians both throughout the centuries and in the present. The Holy Father saw this as the culmination of the Church’s “examination of conscience” for the Jubilee Year. The goal of such a public act of repentance is a “purification of memory.” As the Holy Father explained in his Apostolic Letter “Tertio Millennio Adveniente” the Jubilee Year should be the occasion for a purification of the memory of the Church from all forms of “errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency and slowness to act” in the past millennium. At the same time, the responsibility of Christians for the evils that exist within our own time must be acknowledged as well. The “request for pardon” was made in the understanding that “all of us, though not personally responsible and without encroaching on the judgment of God, who alone knows every heart, bear the burden of the errors and faults of those who have gone before us.” This papal act of atonement for past sin was an intensely spiritual act, meant to seek forgiveness from God and allow Christians to enter the new millennium better prepared to evangelize the Truth of faith. Unfortunately, we live at a time where Truth is rarely recognized, and where the spiritual nature of this public confession made by the Pope for the entire Church was misconstrued, misunderstood and twisted to meet political or ideological agendas. Particularly when events in history are raised, “the simple admission of faults committed by the sons and daughters of the Church may look like acquiescence in the face of accusations made by those who are prejudicially hostile to the Church. There have been responses from Anti-Catholic and the secular arena to the papal apology that confuse repentance for wrong actions with accusations of doctrinal error, or make demands for apologies not required in the historical or cultural context of the events of the past. At the special Jubilee Mass for the first Sunday of Lent, Pope John Paul II, gave his expression of regret for the entire Church for the following: 1. “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.” The pope explained that “in certain periods of history Christians have at times given in to intolerance.” He asked that we “seek and promote truth in the gentleness of charity, in the firm knowledge that truth can prevail only in virtue of truth itself.” “Recognition of the sins which have rent the unity of the Body of Christ and wounded fraternal charity.” The pope asked forgiveness for the breakdown in Christian unity and that “believers have opposed one another, becoming divided, and have mutually condemned one another and fought against one another.” 3. “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.” The pope acknowledged that we are “deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer.” 4. “Repent of the words and attitudes caused by pride, by hatred, by the desire to dominate others, by enmity toward members of other religions and toward the weakest groups in society.” Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness because “Christians have often denied the Gospel; yielding to a mentality of power, they have violated the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures and religious traditions.” 5. “Offenses against…human dignity and…rights (that) have been trampled; let us pray for women, who are all too often humiliated and emarginated.” At times, the pope explained, “the equality of your sons and daughters has not been acknowledged, and Christians have been guilty of rejection and exclusion, consenting to acts of discrimination on the basis of racial and ethnic differences.” 6. “Especially for minors who are victims of abuse, for the poor, the alienated, the disadvantaged; let us pray for those most defenseless, the unborn killed in their mother’s womb or even exploited for experimental purposes by those who abuse the promise of biotechnology and distort the aims of science.” How many times, the pope asked, “have Christians not recognized (Christ) in the hungry, the thirsty and the naked, in the persecuted, the imprisoned and in those incapable of defending themselves, particularly in the first stages of life.” He asked forgiveness for “all those who have committed acts of injustice by trusting in wealth and power and showing contempt for the ‘little ones.’” The apology was offered on behalf of the church’s ‘sons and daughters’ but not the church itself, which is considered holy. Nor did John Paul directly address the sensitive issue of whether past popes, cardinals and clergy – not just parishioners – also erred. This is a two-fold misunderstanding. First, there is a real distinction between a theological understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ, which is holy, and its members that are sinners. Second, the critics are making the common mistake of identifying “the Church” with the hierarchy. “Sons and daughters” of the Church refers to all baptized members of the Church, not “just parishioners.” The papal apology was not meant as an endorsement of a contemporary ideological agenda. The apology makes clear that “Christians have been guilty of rejection and exclusion, consenting to acts of discrimination on the basis of racial and ethnic differences.” No person should be subject to discrimination and if any in the Christian community cooperate in discrimination, they are in error. Careful and objective historical analysis – free from the prejudices of the past and present – needs to guide our understanding of the past. The Church is “not afraid of the truth that emerges from history and is ready to acknowledge mistakes whenever they have been identified, especially when they involve the respect that is owed to individuals and communities. She is inclined to mistrust generalizations that excuse or condemn various historical periods. She entrusts the investigation of the past to patient, honest, scholarly reconstruction, free from confessional or ideological prejudices, regarding both the accusations brought against her and the wrongs she has suffered. Thus, Pope John Paul II’s historic act of atonement was a witness to guide Catholics into the third millennium. Bigoted commentary, historical distortion, demands for doctrinal abandonment, and anti-Catholic prejudice will not detract from this unprecedented jubilee “request for pardon.” The Good Pope whom I admire a lot has my thumbs up for being so brave and noble May he pray for us so that we may imitate his ideals and virtues. !!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:05:25 +0000
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