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MEANING OF THE "DAY OF PARDON"
On March 12, 2000, the First Sunday of Lent, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass with the Cardinals and asked forgiveness from God for the sins, past and present, of the Church. Most media coverage described it as "an apology," but calling what happened "an apology" is not truly accurate; the "Day of Pardon" involved far more. While an "apology" is an expression of sadness or regret that something has happened, it may or may not include accepting responsibility for what happened or call forth a change of heart. "Confession of sins" includes both. What follows is an edited version of the Vatican News Service's description of "The Meaning of the Celebration" of the "Day of Pardon." "The celebration of the Day of Pardon was expressly desired by the Holy Father as a powerful sign in this Jubilee Year, which is by its very nature a moment of conversion. "As the Successor of Peter, I ask that in this year of mercy the Church. strong in the holiness which she receives from her Lord, should kneel before God and implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters. All have sinned and none can claim righteousness before God (cf, I Kings 8:46)... Christians are invited to acknowledge, before God and before those offended by their actions, the faults which they have committed Let them do so without seeking anything in return, but strengthened only by the 'love of God which has been poured into our hearts' (Romans 5:5)" (incarnationis Mysterium, 11; cf. Terno Millennio Adveniente, 33). "2. ... In every generation the holiness of the Church has shone forth, witnessed by countless numbers of her sons and daughters; yet this holiness has been contradicted by the continuing presence of sin which burdens the journey of God's People."3. ... Consequently, a liturgy seeking pardon from God for the sins committed by Christians down the centuries is not only legitimate; it is also the most fitting means of expressing repentance and gain purification. Pope John Paul II, in a primatial act [i.e. as the head of the Church and in the name of the Church], confesses the sins of Christians over the centuries down to our own time, conscious that the Church is a unique subject in history, "a single mystical person." The Church is a communion of saints, but a solidarity in sin also exists among ail the members of the People of God: Popes, bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful.. "4. ... Confessing our sins and the sins of those before us is a fitting act on the part of the Church, which has always felt bound to acknowledge the failures of her children and to confront the truth about sins committed. Like the People of God in the Old Testament, who confessed the sin of the golden calf and perpetuated its memory, and the early Church in the New Testament, which recorded and recalled Peter's denial without denying or diminishing it, so the Church today, through the Successor of Peter. names, declares and confesses the errors of Christians in every age. "5. The reference to errors and sins in a liturgy must be frank and capable of specifying guilt; yet given the number of sins committed in the course of twenty centuries, it must necessarily be rather summary....One thing must be forcibly stated: the confession of sins made by the Pope is addressed to God; who alone can forgive sins, but it is also made before humanity, from whom the responsibilities of Christians cannot be hidden. "6. This confession does not entail a judgment on those who have gone before us: judgment belongs to God alone and will be declared on the last day. Christians today do not believe that they are "better than their fathers" (cf. 1 Kg 19:4), but they do wish to state what have been, in the light of the Gospel and the Spirit of Christ, objective historical errors in ways of acting. Consequently the confession clearly points to certain historical failings, but the parties responsible are neither judged nor named. The confession takes place within the context of the solidarity of sinners: the baptized of the present are conscious of their link to the baptized of the past. Judgment is not passed on Christians of earlier times, nor are extenuating circumstances overlooked; but regret is expressed and the evil done is confessed as we take upon ourselves the failings of those who have preceded us. "7. By placing the confession of sins within the liturgy, Pope John Paul II wishes to demonstrate that this act has its own inner meaning and aims at the purification of memory and at reconciliation between Christians and between the Church and humanity. Confessing the historical sins of Christians is not however aimed solely at the purification of memory: it is also meant to be an occasion for a change of mentality and certain attitudes in the Church, as well as the source of a new teaching for the future, in the consciousness that the sins of the past remain as temptations in the present. The confession of sins is a means favoring dialogue, reconciliation and peace. "8. This liturgy is a service to truth: the Church is not afraid to confront the sins of Christians when she becomes conscious of their errors. It is a service to faith: the acknowledgment and confession of sins opens the way to a renewed fidelity to the Lord. It is a service to charity: a witness of love in the humility of one who begs pardon. The Church is also a teacher when she asks the Lord for pardon and forgiveness of sins." Elements of the Celebration:
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