Title: Roman Catholics
Apologize for Sins
Author:
Publication: Associate
Press
Date: March 9, 2000
Boston (AP) - Roman Catholic
leaders around the country are following Pope John Paul II's lead and offering
apologies for Catholics' sins against various minority groups, other Christians
and alienated members of their own church.
Church leaders in Boston
and Santa Fe plan to offer apologies this weekend, and officials in Los
Angeles and Denver already have done so.
Their remarks come at
the start of Lent, a period of penance, and in the midst of the Jubilee
year, during which the church is reflecting on its first 2,000 years.
On Sunday, the pope plans
to express regret for the Crusades, the Inquisition and other ''faults
of the past.''
He's also expected to
allude to anti-Jewish prejudices among some Catholics, and how that may
have facilitated Nazi Germany's campaign to eliminate European Jews.
Cardinal Bernard Law
of Boston said he was inspired by the pope, and will voice sorrow for Boston
Catholics' past and present sins against Jews, blacks, non-Catholics and
others in a prayer service Saturday.
''We will be looking
back to those moments when, through her members, the church was not faithful
to herself, to the message of Christ, and it's good for us ... to name
those things,'' Law said.
In Santa Fe, Archbishop
Michael Sheehan will lead a service Friday night during which the archdiocese
will seek pardon from other Christians, American Indians, and victims of
sexual abuse, among others.
In a letter published
Thursday, Colorado Archbishop Charles J. Chaput asked Jews to forgive Catholics
for a history of wrongs. He also asks forgiveness for ''the ignorance and
prejudice which still exist'' against the Jewish people.
Monday, Cardinal Roger
Mahony of Los Angeles apologized to groups including homosexuals and members
of other faiths.
''We must continue our
many efforts at all levels to bring people together in a spirit of mutual
respect and cooperation,'' Mahony said.
