Frankly, as a Catholic and as an American, I am getting more than a little tired of Popes and Presidents apologizing in my name and for all my fellow Catholics and countrymen for the sins of some within our ranks.
Just last week, Pope Francis has asked Rwandan President Paul Kagame for forgiveness for the "sins and failings" of the Catholic Church during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
During a meeting with Kagame at the Vatican, the Pope expressed "solidarity with the victims and with those who continue to suffer the consequences of those tragic events.” Pope Francis acknowledged that Priests, Runs and lay members of the Church had succumbed to hatred and violence in Rwanda, "betraying their own evangelical mission," the Vatican said.
This is just the latest in a long list of attempts at public self-flagellation and the condemnation of all for the misdeeds of a few. It is another pitiable display of political correctness raised to the level of diplomacy.
Pope St. John Paul II was artful and prolific in his apologies for the entire Body of Christ, of which I and entire generations of my family have been loyal and faithful members.
Let’s see, John Paul II offered the following apologies:
(1) to Galileo for the legal process brought against him;
(2) to black people for the Church’s “involvement” in the slave trade;
(3) the persecution and execution of a number of heretics and reformers;
(4) the historical denigration of women;
(5) the silence of so many Catholics during the Holocaust;
(6) the execution of Jan Hus, a Czech reformer;
(7) the sins of Catholics throughout the ages for violating ethnic rights;
(8) the Crusades;
(9) the sexual abuse of minors (a nuanced apology to be sure).
Pope Benedict XVI was even more inclusive, but did not fail to apologize for me and my Catholic household for each and every sin or failing perpetrated by a member or members of the Church.
While still Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, JosephCardinal Ratzinger, presented the dicastery’s study on the topic of “Memories and Reconciliation". The document stated that the purpose of the study was “not to examine particular historical cases but rather to clarify the presuppositions that ground repentance for past faults." It went on to examine repentance for past faults of Catholics in the context of sociology, ecclesiology and theology.
Strange how I don’t remember myself doing any of these things. I can’t imagine the Catholics I know being involved in such injustices either.
But wait, not only have Popes felt it necessary to apologize in my name for the sins of the Church, but an American President believed that he needed to apologize to the nations of the world in my name for political misdeeds perpetrated by some within the government.
During his lackluster tenure, President Obama offered the following apologies to the world in the name of all Americans:
(1) an apology to France and Europe for America’s arrogance;
(2) an apology to the Muslim world;
(3) an apology to the Summits of the Americas;
(4) an apology to the G-20 Summit members;
(5) an apology for the War on Terror;
(6) an apology (the first of many) for Guantanamo Bay prison;
(7) an apology before the Turkish Parliament;
(8) an apology for U.S. Policy toward the Americas;
(9) an apology for the mistakes of the CIA;
(10) yet another apology for Guantanamo.
Taken out of the historical context in which certain actions and decisions were made, apologies decades or centuries after the fact have no meaning. And assigning a corporate sense of guilt for the actions of specific miscreants is unjust and unfair. These modern day judgments of past events are nothing but a poorly orchestrated attempt to be “politically correct” and attribute to all the sins or crimes of a few.
If Pope Francis feels the need to apologize in the name of anyone for the genocide in Rwanda, let him name the evildoers -- the specific Bishops, Priests, Religious and Laity who actively participate in the atrocities. He knows who they are. Just don’t lump me in with these villains.
If John Paul II felt it appropriate to apologize to Galileo, then he should have apologized in the name of St. Robert Bellarmine (his prosecutor) and in the name of Pope Urban VII who called the Tribunal of the Inquisition which condemned him. Don’t lay the guilt of these men, if they were guilty of anything, upon me because I choose to believe in the Gospel handed down to me by my ancestors in the Catholic Faith.
Of course, Cardinal Ratzinger offered apologies for the entirety of Catholic history, I presume up to and including my association with the Church.
How foolish and inane!
And I will reserve any remarks about President Obama because I reject almost everything he said and did during his administration. I did not vote for him twice and never accepted him as the chief representative of anything qualified by the term “American”.
It’s about time that leaders come clean and stop with these deceitful antics.
Intelligent, reasonable and mature human beings realize that any institution (be it of Divine or human origin) consisting of human beings will manifest both the best and the worst of humanity. To suggest that the entire institution is responsible for the misdeeds of some is a lie. To apologize in the name of all for the sins of some is a canard, a ruse to win popularity and favor among others.
And, as I look at some of the things these Popes and this President apologized for, I can’t say I disagree with what was done at the time it was done.
Perhaps, a fair assessment of the past actions of the Church and America for which Popes and a President feel a need to offer apologies might include this question: where would the Church or our country be today if these actions weren’t taken when they were in the circumstances of the moment?
In any case, when the time comes for me to offer a personal apology to the world for my sins, I pray I have the courage to do it in my own name and without the need of someone else having to do it for me.
And perhaps then such an apology will be both sincere and meaningful.
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