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Pagans in Action
Emboldened by the Pope’s promise to apologize for the errors of the
Church’s past, a group of self-styled pagans has announced plans to hear the
Pontiff’s confession, and grant him absolution.

By Diogenes

Honestly, I am not making this up. The letter that follows is not a hoax.

Your Holiness:

The signatories to this letter have become aware that your advisors in the Vatican are working on a formal Apology to the Protestant Christians, Jews, and Muslims for the persecution these groups suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church during the centuries of the Inquisition. It is our understanding that you will formally present this Apology at the opening of the Holy Year 2000 Grand Jubilee, following a penitential procession from the Basilica of Santa Sabina to Rome’s Circus Maximus, where you will call for forgiveness for the historic failings of the Church. This is a brave and laudable effort, heralding the beginning of a great healing between the Catholic Church and the groups that have, historically, been persecuted in its name.

We note however, that early news releases concerning this event have not indicated that those accused of being Witches, and those indigenous (i.e. “Pagan”) peoples who were forcibly converted by the Church will be included in your apology. This letter is a formal request for that omission to be rectified. As leaders of the contemporary Pagan/Wiccan community, we sincerely hope that Your Holiness will lead the way to mutual respect for all religions and spiritual paths by including all those who suffered from the tragedy of the Inquisition.

Modern Pagans, including many identified as Witches and Druids, comprise a global spiritual movement that draws its inspiration and traditions from indigenous pre-Christian religions. In the name of our spiritual ancestors who suffered persecution during the Inquisition, we respectfully request inclusion of Pagans and Witches in your Apology Address.

Sincerely yours,

As CWR goes to press, this letter has been signed by well over 1,500 self-identified pagans from all around the world, organized under the aegis of the Committee for the Pope’s Millennium Apology.

Trick or treat

If this idea strikes you as a bit bizarre, brace yourself for more.

•    The pagans’ letter, not surprisingly, is dated October 31, 1999—the feast of Samhain on the Wiccan calendar.

•    Running quickly down the list of signatories, one notices that the Fellowship of Isis is well represented. There are also leaders from the Coven of the Mists, the Church of All Worlds, the Society of Celtic Shamans, Order of the Sacred Oaks, and the Ozark Avalon.

•    Some members of the pagan committee carry impressive—if somewhat obscure—titles. For example, Isaac Bonewits is an “Archdruid Emeritus”; presumably his ministry is now exercised by the man who was previously his coadjutor archdruid. Wolfen Moondaughter is an Eclectic Wiccan. And one entry on the list is so remarkable that I simply reproduce it here verbatim:

e.l.f. Silverlocke: founding member, priestess, New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD); detached elder, Covenant of the Goddess (COG); Church of All Worlds (CAW); Faerie

•    The Committee for the Pope’s Millennium Apology wastes no words in explaining the ultimate purpose of this effort: “We wish to hear the Pope’s confession, and to offer absolution.”

Again, I am not making this up.

The logic of the pagan complaint is not always easy to follow. On an internet site devoted to the Pope’s Millennium Apology, the organizers complain that their “spiritual ancestors” were identified “by the Inquisition itself, as Witches and Pagans.” But since they now identify themselves as witches and pagans, it seems that the Inquisition might have been right on the money. Similarly, the background material presented on the internet site scoffs at Christian complaints that pagans call on false gods, but goes on to reveal: “Paganism is polytheistic, honoring many gods.”

Although the group views the Church as the font of all intolerance, the Committee for the Pope’s Millennium Apology is remarkably open to “interfaith dialogue” with Catholics. In fact the internet site proclaims that Christians, even Catholics, are welcome to become pagans (although their pastors might not be too happy about it).

“Persecution of Pagans and Witches continues today,” the pagan group tells us. But evidently the Church is not quite so rough these days. The Committee’s web site can be found on the internet domain of Boston College, a Jesuit institution, where it is hosted by Christopher Lafond, a member of the school’s teaching faculty.

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