Last Word

So Sorry

A pope of the future apologizes for the failings of the present

By Diogenes

First and foremost, let us ask God's pardon for the fact that so many of us stood by in silence during those years when innocent unborn children were torn from the wombs of their mothers.

April 1, 2033

Vatican City-State (CWN) -- In a sharply worded encyclical letter, the first of his pontificate, Pope Pius XV has urged Christians throughout the world to unite in an examination of conscience in preparation for the ceremonies marking the 2,000th anniversary of the Crucifixion.

The title of the encyclical, Tertio Millennio Adveniente--a direct repetition of the title of an apostolic letter issued by Pope John Paul II in 1996--makes it clear that the Pope is following the example of his predecessor, who called for a similar examination of conscience in preparation for Jubilee Year of 2000, celebrating the anniversary of the Incarnation.

"I wish to walk in the footsteps of my predecessor John Paul II, of blessed memory," writes Pope Pius XV in his own version of Tertio Millennio. "Like him, I urge Christian believers throughout the world to prepare for this solemn celebration by examining the history of the People of God, and recognizing how frequently we have failed to live up to the promises and demands of the Gospel."

(Although most historians agree that the 2,000th anniversary of the Crucifixion actually occurred six years ago, the Pope argues that it is appropriate to celebrate the anniversary according to the accepted calendar. His encyclical quotes Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger--a leading Vatican official in the years before the Jubilee--who argued answered similar questions by saying: "The year 2000 is still an important occasion for Christian memory, and I would say for the memory of the world."

In order to sharpen that examination of conscience, the Holy Father explains, he has chosen in this encyclical letter to concentrate on the failures of Catholics during the years leading up to the Jubilee. During those years, he points out, Church leaders offered public apologies for past events including the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust of World War II. "Those apologies flowed from a pure motive: the desire to recognize our weakness," Pius XV writes. "But as we ask the Lord to protect us from hidden faults, let us recognize that our blessed forefathers, too, failed to fulfill the Lord's commands in many crucial ways."

The following are excerpts from the papal encyclical:

"First and foremost, let us ask God's pardon for the fact that so many of us stood by in silence during those years when innocent unborn children were torn from the wombs of their mothers. We can neither overlook nor excuse the failure to rebuke those who called themselves Catholic Christians, yet supported and even encouraged the killing of the innocent. Let us seek in particular the pardon of those whose grandparents sacrificed their own lives and their freedom in the defense of the unborn, while so many Catholics tolerated the slaughter.

"Let us beg God's forgiveness for the failure to speak out forcefully against contraception, which stripped the marital act of its essential purpose; against divorce, which deprived the family of its stability; against euthanasia, which robbed human suffering of its dignity. Let us seek in particular the pardon of those who were raised in broken homes, and those whose defenseless parents were killed in the name of compassion.

"We, the People of God, must acknowledge and repent the cowardice that caused us to overlook the oppression of our brothers in Christ: the loyal Catholics of China who suffered because of their loyalty to the Holy See; the Christians of Lebanon and Palestine who lost their homes and their jobs in the region where Jesus once walked; our brothers in Sudan who were murdered because they professed our faith during an era of persecution."

"As we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the Crucifixion, the very act which accomplished our salvation, let us ask pardon in a special way for the abuses of the liturgy, in which we celebrate that moment of redemption.

"Let us be mindful of the elderly people, many of whom are still with us today, who were never instructed in the truths of the faith, but allowed to remain ignorant of the Catholic tradition--the people who asked their pastors for bread, and were given stones.

"In particular we must apologize to the elderly women who, prompted by the ideology of an earlier age, were encouraged to hold unrealistic hopes about their future role in the Church, and at the same time to neglect the true dignity of the feminine person."