Papal sorrow draws positive reactions

On March 12, as part of his observance of the Jubilee Year, Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness for the way Christians, over the past 2,000 years, have mistreated Jews, different cultures and faiths, women, and others (see March 16 issue).

The Evangelist asked some representatives of those groups what their reaction was to the Pope's expression of sorrow (see related article on page 4):

* Makhtar Magraoui, a Muslim imam, of Troy: "I think [the confession of sins regarding cultures/religions and the Pope's prayer] is very powerful, very meaningful, very sincere, very touching. It also requires, for someone of the Pope's position, strength of faith and strength of commitment to the practical teachings of that faith. I feel spiritually very compelled to acknowledge to the Pope a type of inner strength that he had shown. He is talking about justice. I pray that those who have listened to this message show generosity and accept those apologies. I hope we all learn from this and that people will learn to show the same sense of fairness, of moral responsibility."

* Rabbi Bernard Bloom, rabbi emeritus of Temple Gates of Heaven in Schenectady: "It speaks of the great importance the Pope places upon the Church's recognition and acknowledgment of their sins, and the Church's obligation to repentance. In my mind, the whole ceremony was very Jewish in its structure and content, almost a reenactment of the annual event in Biblical Judaism of the day of the high priest and day of atonement. If you read the entire text of his confession of sins against the people of Israel and the entire statement, it's a remarkable and historic statement."

* Dr. Peter Zaas, director of the Jewish-Christian Institute of Siena College in Loudonville: "The Jewish community ought to applaud the Pope's overtures to the Jewish community throughout his papacy, including his recent apology for past wrongs, unspecified mostly. Some of the applause ought to be polite, and some ought to be wildly enthusiastic. His entire papacy has been conscientious mostly in attempting to deal in new and interesting ways with Catholic-Jewish relations."

* Rev. Charles Lindholm, ecumenical officer for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Upstate New York Synod: "I thought it was a courageous act and long overdue. John Paul II is the kind of pope who could pull this off more easily than previous popes, with genuine humility and gentleness." The Jubilee Year request for forgiveness is "a public recognition that the Church does make mistakes and that people make mistakes. It's a way of saying, not only to the Roman Catholic Church, but to all Christians and people, that the Pope is requesting forgiveness for some of the mistakes of the Catholic Church in past decades. That's something we all need to do."

* George Herrick, chairman of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns for the Troy Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church: "It's a very positive move. I'm a believer in the idea of forgiving and was very pleased to see that he talked about forgiving those who have done things against the Catholic faith." While there was no mention of the Holocaust, Mr. Herrick hopes "there would be some follow up that gets a little more specific. We can never go back, but the Pope has made a statement for the Catholic Church, and let's go from here with new direction."

* Vince Dwyer, a Tonawanda Seneca Indian and chair of Keepers of the Circle, a Native American cultural group: "I attended Catholic schools. The apology is long in coming. I feel it's way overdue."

(Editor's note: Reporting for this article was done by Kate Blain, assistant editor, and staff writers Maureen McGuinness and Paul Quirini.)

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