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March 10, 2000/3 Adar II 5760, Vol. 52, No.27
Pope wants reconciliation, but relations strained
RUTH E. GRUBER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ROME - Pope John Paul II will act this month on two prominent themes that have colored his papacy: seeking forgiveness for past Catholic errors, including the treatment of Jews, and his intense personal dream of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
But his actions on these issues are coming amid questions, controversy and strained relations between the Vatican and Israel.
On March 12, which the Vatican has declared a "day of request for forgiveness" for Catholics, the pope will lead Mass at the Vatican dedicated to pardon and repentance. Little more than a week later, coinciding with the holiday of Purim, he is scheduled to fly to the Holy Land, where he will retrace the footsteps of Jesus in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
At the March 12 Mass, the pope is expected to deliver a sweeping church apology for past sins. This week, however, senior church officials said the plea for forgiveness should not be seen as self-flagellation, but as an attempt to heal historic wounds.
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray spoke at a news conference March 7 to formally present a new document explaining the theological framework for what he called the "purification of memory."
The document, "Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Mistakes of the Past," lists several major areas where the church had failed, including the Inquisition, forced conversion and treatment of Jews. But it reiterated the church's position that individuals were responsible for such sins, not the church itself.
Etchegaray and other Vatican officials said the pope will not seek a pardon for specific persons nor will his prayers for forgiveness imply a judgment on the Christians of the past.
Regarding relations with the Jews, the document primarily reiterates assertions made in earlier documents and statements, including a landmark 1998 Vatican document on the Holocaust that disappointed many Jews for having defended the wartime behavior of Pope Pius XII.
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