Pontiff Contends Church Must Still Ask Pardon

Cautions Against Judging Earlier Generations

WARSAW, Poland, MAY 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI on his first day in Poland echoed Pope John Paul II's call to the Church to ask pardon for its children's infidelities.

He explained this need in his address to clergy Thursday at Warsaw's cathedral. He also invited his listeners to acknowledge the good accomplished with the help of God's grace.

"On the occasion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Pope John Paul II frequently exhorted Christians to do penance for infidelities of the past," Benedict XVI said. "We believe the Church is holy but that there are sinners among her members.

"We need to reject the desire to identify only with those who are sinless. How could the Church have excluded sinners from her ranks?"

The Holy Father added: "Jesus took flesh, died and rose again. We must therefore learn to live Christian penance with sincerity. By practicing it, we confess individual sins in union with others, before them and before God."

Humble sincerity

"Yet," he continued, "we must guard against the arrogant claim of setting ourselves up to judge earlier generations, who lived in different times and different circumstances.

"Humble sincerity is needed in order not to deny the sins of the past, and at the same time not to indulge in facile accusations in the absence of real evidence or without regard for the different perceptions of the time."

"Moreover," the Pope said, "the confession of sin 'confessio peccati,' to use an expression of St. Augustine, must always be accompanied by the 'confessio laudis,' the confession of praise.

"As we ask pardon for the wrong that was done in the past, we must also remember the good accomplished with the help of divine grace which, even if contained in earthenware vessels, has borne fruit that is often excellent."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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