From: "Perry L. Porter" Subject: ---> Something we could learn from the Pope. Date: 23 Sep 1998 22:01:38 -0600 12:35 PM ET 09/23/98 Vatican to seek forgiveness for past sins By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Vatican theologians have finished the draft of a major document in which the Catholic Church will officially ask forgiveness for its past errors, possibly including the Inquisition and its treatment of Jews. The Vatican said on Wednesday its International Theological Commission would meet next month to work on a document ``on the relationship between the Church and the errors of the past.'' The theologians will review a working draft of a document ordered by Pope John Paul, who wants the Church of nearly one billion members to seek forgiveness for the past as part of celebrations marking the millennium. The working draft, currently 35 pages, was prepared by a subcommittee and will be presented to the theological commission for discussion in Rome from September 28 to October 3. The document, whose definitive title is not known, will be studied by the commission and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's top theologian and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the document, the Church is expected to ask forgiveness for past errors, including contempt for Jews and heretics. The 2000 celebrations begin on December 24, 1999, and end on January 6, 2001. It was not clear when the document would be issued. Catholics around the world are due to mark a day of ``Request for Forgiveness'' on March 8, 2000. In a major document last March, the Vatican apologised for Catholics who failed to do enough to help Jews against Nazi persecution during the Holocaust and acknowledged centuries of Catholic preaching of contempt against Jews. In a trip to Germany in 1996, the Pope said not enough of the country's Catholics stood up to Adolf Hitler. The Pope has said in various documents and speeches that the Church needed to assume its responsibility for the Inquisition, which was marked by the forced conversion of Jews and the torture and killing of heretics. While there may have been mitigating historical factors for the behaviour of some Catholics, the Pope has said this did not prevent the Church from expressing deep regret for the wrongs of its members in some periods of its history. One of the first steps of his papacy, which marks it 20th anniversary next month, was to begin the procedure that led to the rehabilitation of Galileo, the astronomer who was persecuted by the Church. The Inquisition prosecuted Galileo for his assertion that the Earth revolved around the Sun, a teaching which ran counter to Biblical accounts. The Vatican has already held a conference on the religious roots of anti-Semitism and one on the Inquisition is planned for later this year. ^REUTERS@ ------------ Articles of Faith 13 13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; ... If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. Joseph Smith. [Why is it that the LDS church is not leading the way on repenting of the previous sins of our past?] Perry http://pobox.com/~plporter -