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- VATICAN CITY (Reuters)
- In one of the most significant acts of his papacy, Pope John Paul asked
forgiveness on Sunday for the many past sins of his Church, including its
treatment of Jews, heretics, women and native peoples.
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- It was the first time in the history of the Catholic
Church that one of its leaders has sought such a sweeping pardon.
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- Wearing the purple vestments of Lenten mourning and speaking
at the heart of Catholicism in St Peter's Basilica, the Pope and his top
cardinals listed the many past sins of their Church, grouped into seven
categories.
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- ``We forgive and we ask for forgiveness,'' the Pope said
in his homily during the unprecedented ceremony, held on the Catholic Church's
``Day of Forgiveness'' for the 2000 Holy Year.
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- There was great curiosity before the ceremony about how
specific the Pope would be when speaking of the Jews.
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- The prayer for forgiveness for sins against Jews, which
was read by Cardinal Edward Cassidy, said in part:
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- ``Let us pray 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....''
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- The Pope then added in his own words: ``We are deeply
saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused
these children of yours (the Jews) to suffer, and asking your forgiveness
we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the
Covenant.''
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- There was no specific reference to the Holocaust, in
which the Nazis killed some six million Jews.
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- Last week Italian Jews called on the Pope, who visits
Jerusalem later this month, to be as specific as possible about the Holocaust
during Sunday's mass.
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- But Rabbi David Rosen, head of the Jerusalem office of
the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, said expectations that the
Pope would say more were perhaps ``a little unrealistic.''
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- Rosen, a prominent figure in Catholic-Jewish relations,
told Reuters the inclusion of a request for forgiveness from Jews in a
Roman Catholic liturgy in St Peter's was ``a significant step.''
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- In a major document in 1998, the Vatican apologized for
Catholics who had failed to help Jews against Nazi persecution and acknowledged
centuries of preaching of contempt for Jews.
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- <http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20000312/ts/mdf57589.html
Reuters Photo
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- A Dirty Laundry List Of Sins
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- ``We ask forgiveness for the divisions among Christians,
for the use of violence that some Christians used in the service of the
truth and for the behavior of diffidence and hostility sometimes used toward
followers of other religions,'' the Pope said in his homily before the
prayers.
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- The words ``violence in the service of truth'' is a much-used
reference to the treatment of heretics during the Inquisition, the Crusades,
and forced conversions of native peoples.
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- ``For the role that each one of us has had, with his
behavior, in these evils, contributing to a disfigurement of the face of
the Church, we humbly ask forgiveness,'' he said.
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- The seven categories of forgiveness were general sins,
sins in the service of truth, sins against Christian unity, against the
Jews, against respect for love, peace and cultures, against the dignity
of women and minorities, and against human rights.
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- There was no reference to homosexuals, who had asked
to be included in the list of those asked for forgiveness.
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- The prayer for forgiveness from women and minorities
said Christians had been ``guilty of attitudes of rejection and exclusion,
consenting to acts of discrimination on the basis of racial and ethnic
differences.''
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- The prayer for forgiveness for human rights abuses said
Christians had not recognized Christ in the poor, the persecuted and imprisoned
and had too often committed ``acts of injustice by trusting in wealth and
power.''
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- Referring to abortion, he said Christians had not defended
the defenseless ``especially in the first stages of life.''
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- The Pope said Christians had ``violated the rights of
ethnic groups and peoples and shown contempt for their cultures and religious
traditions.'' A prayer mentioned sins against gypsies.
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- The Pope has said often that Catholics should see the
start of the millennium as an ideal opportunity to seek forgiveness for
past sins, including those of the Church as a community.
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- He has called this a necessary ``purification of memory''
in order for the Church to move forward.
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- The Pope also said Christians were ready to forgive others
for the abuse suffered by Christians over the centuries.
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