Papal Apology

John Paul II asks Forgiveness for Church's sins.   Pope

John Paul II delivered a historical, sweeping apology for the sins of the

Roman Catholic Church over the centuries.

Vatican City, March 13, 2000

Never before has a Pope publicly asked God's forgiveness for the horrors committed by groups of Catholics over the centuries, often in the name of the Church.   On Sunday, Pope John Paul II did!   The day of Pardon Mass in St. Peter Basillica was a climax of the Pope's campaign for a collective examination of conscience of his Church, and begins its third millennium.

"No Pope has gone to such lengths to seek Forgiveness of past sins", Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro Valls, said.   A document prepared by an international groups of the theologians, which was released in Paris, France last week, and statement by officials today suggested the Pope will at least allude to responsibility by the Catholics in the Holocaust, the Inquisition, the Crusades and for acts against Albigenses, Waldenses, and other Christians in wars of religions.

The Pope's did NOT single out  specific groups or historical moments, but special prayers during the mass addressed several general categories of oppression.  Among them were sins against other cultures, such as the cruel colonization of the native people.  Sins against the Jews, in ALL past centuries, and sins against women, from witch hunt to their relegation to second class status.   A Vatican released a document entitled "Memory and Reconciliation":   the Church and its past error, which lays the framework for Pope John Paul II's upcoming request for past errors of his Church.

Can the Catholic Church save itself?   Time magazine!   4/1/2002

Sources:   The Official Catholic Directory, National Religious Retirement  Office.  The State of the Church beset by Sex scandal and the Priests shortage and Nuns are thinning.  In 1960, there were approximately 200,000 Nuns in the United States.   By the year 2001, there were only 79,462.  In 1965, there were approximately 65,000 priests in the U.S.A.  By the year 2001, there were  only 46,041.

While the number studying to become priests has fallen.

In 1960, approximately 19, 000.   By the year 2001, only 3,541.

The Church has been using more deacons to take up the slack.

In 1975 only 1,000 deacons.   By the year 2001, the number jumped to 13,348.

***** The State of the Church.

1.   The Pope:   Head of the Church, he is based at the Vatican.  The Pope is infallible in defining matters of faith and morals.

2.  The Cardinals:   Appointed by the Pope, the 178 Cardinals worldwide, including 13 in the United States make up the college of Cardinals.  As a body, it advises the Pope and, on his death, elects a New Pope.

3.  Archbishop:   An Archibishop is a bishop of a main or metropolitan

diocese, also called an archdiocese.   A Cardinal can concurrently hold the

title.   The U. S. has 45 Archbishops.

4.   Bishop:   A Bishop, is like a priest, station.  He is a teacher of

church doctrine, a priest of sacred worship and a minister of church

government. The U.S. has 290 active Bishops, 194 head dioceses.

5.   Priest:  an ordained minister who can minister most of the sacraments, including Eucharist, baptism and marriage. He can be with a particular religious order or committed to serving a congregation.

6.   Deacon:  A transitional deacon is a seminarian studying for the

priesthood. A permanent deacon can be married and assists a priest by

performing some of the sacraments.

Can the Church be saved? By Johanna McGeary 4/1/2002 Time Magazine.

    As allegation of sex abuse and official cover-up-mount, outraged Roman Catholics are urging their leaders to redeem and reform the Faith.  Many of us have just awaken to the stunning extent of priestly pedophilia since January, 2002, when the Boston Globe exposed the predations of John Geoghan, and the habit the diocese had of systematically concealing them. But the U.S. church has known all about it-how deep sexual misconduct ran, how widespread, how frequent-at least since the first big abuse scandal broke at a Louisiana trial in 1985, when the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe was sentenced to 20 years for molesting Dozens of children, who were awarded a combined $18 million in damages.

    In the following years that followed, there were more big cases and big financial settlement, an estimated $1 Billion or more, but only halfhearted efforts to adopt firm guidelines on how to handle the problem.  Early on, the Rev. Thomas Doyle, then a cannon lawyer at the Vatican embassy in Washington, drafted a 100-page report advising that offenders be MOVED away from kids, that victims be succored and that the public be told the TRUTH.  But whenever a fresh case erupted, the church said it was an aberration, an isolated example, One Bad Apple.  Or media bashing by an anti-Catholic press.

  Dioceses lapsed into a pattern of denial and deception. They treated

sexual pathology as a moral failure and crime as a religious matter.  The

Roman Catholic Church is a stern hierarchy that has always kept its

deliberations secret, policed itself and issued orders from the top. An

obedient priest moves up in power by keeping his head down, winning reward for bureaucratic skills and strict orthodoxy.  When Cardinals are created, they take a vow before the Pope to "Keep in confidence anything that, if revealed, would cause scandal or harm to the church." 

    When it came to sexual abuse, the Vatican essentially told the

bishops, "You are on your own."   But if saving the church from scandal was literally a cardinal virtue, then the bishops of America's 194 dioceses who had direct responsibility for priestly misconduct would make it their

principle.  Better, by far, never to let the public know.   If allegations came to the diocese attention, the bishop, a power unto himself who often operated as if ordination gave him a share of the Pope's infallibility, acted as prosecutor, judge, sentencer.   Desperate to retain even sinful men, as the number of priests Shrank alarmingly, and ever putting the image of the church first, bishops refined the system.  Convince the family that publicly would harm the faith.  Don't report to the police; don't warn the parish.

    Treat the priests with confession, time out at discreet rehab center, and Christian forgiveness; then let him resume duties at a new Parish, the same way they dealt with whisky priests' alcoholism.  For years the bishops believed, or made themselves believe, Pedophilia could be "Cured," until the serial molestations and multiple victims and repeat offenders proved it wasn't so.

***** The most recalcitrant recidivists were eventually "laicized" force to

give up their priestly vocation--longer they had done their worst.  And if a

victim finally sued, the strategy was to admit nothing, buy silence, settle

out of court and seal the deal with confidentiality contract.

177 Priests were removed in 28 states in United States by Rachell Zoll  

4/29/2002

    At least 177 Priests suspected of molesting minors have either resigned or been taken off duty in 28 States and the District of Columbia, since the clerical Sex Scandal erupted in January, 2002, as nation wide review of Roman Catholic diocesesby.   For instance, bishops have given law enforcement authorities details of claims against at least 260 clergymen.  Some of those priests are among those taken off duty, but others are long retired, and state attorneys say many of the cases are probably too old to prosecute.  The number of Priests disciplined since January may be Higher than 177, since several dioceses would NOT say how many clergy they suspended. Schiltz said, the number sounded LOW.

   There are 46,075 priests in the United States.  Many complaints come from decade ago.  Bishops were pressured to disclose detail of abused claims, and hundreds more people came forward to say they had been molested in California and Massachusetts alone, prosecutors and private lawyers said nearly 500 have made new allegations of abused this year. "For many of us it's hard to move on until we have an apology of some type of admission or acknowledgment that we were hurt.," said Clohenssy who claims he was abused as a child.   Georgy said the Crisis would only end "When people feel their kids are Safe!"

Will God forgive the Church past sins??

Matthew 15:12-14 Jesus said, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father has NOT planted, shall be rooted up.  Let them alone.  They be blind leaders of the blind.  And if the Blind leads the Blind, both shall fall into the ditch." 

Many Catholics are dedicated people, God fearing, and with an honest love for God in serving him.   This is why the Lord has attempted the last 1900 years, to call them out of this spiritual Mystery Babylon (confusion) the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abomination of the earth, and her daughters (Revelation 17:5,6).

John Wesley writes Benedict 13th, in his proclamation of the Jubilee, A.D. 1725, explains this sufficiently.   His words are, "This Catholic and

apostolical Roman Church is head of the world, the Mother of all believers,

the Mistress of all churches. "The Mother of Harlots" the parent, ringleader,

patroness, and nourisher of many daughters, that closely COPY her.  As the Mother of Harlots, she is the church from which other impure (even

Protestant) churches have been spawned."

(Revelation 18-19) In 95 A.D. After these things I (John the Apostle) saw... Babylon the Great has fallen, has fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful birds... I heard another Voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive NOT of her sins.  For her sins have reach unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works...Alas, Alas, that great city Babylon, for in ONE hour is thy judgment comes...For One hour so great riches come to naught..."

Her cup is full of abominations, with indulgences, the worship of relics, and other sacrilegious practices introduced by the Roman church.  The harlot is Drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.  The bloody persecutions perpetrated by the Roman church through the centuries:   It has been calculated that the popes of Rome have, directly or indirectly, slain on account of their faith 50-100 Millions of martyrs.

The call, "Come out of HER, my People" that there might be found in HER some who were true people of God; that it was their duty to separate wholly from her wickedness an act of guilt before God.  That they who Remain in such  a communion cannot but be regarded as partaking of her sins; and if they Remain, they must expect to be involved in the Calamities that will come upon her.  There never was any duty plainer than that of with drawing from Papal Rome and her daughters.

Two reasons are given for separation from Babylon: 1) to AVOID being seduced and becoming a Participant in Her Sins; 2) to Avoid receiving a portion in her plagues. With reference to the comment that Her sins have reached to heaven. God has remembered her iniquities. That God has determined to Repay her double for her sins against humanity and His apostles, and people through down the centuries.

As Babylon of old had its origins in the Tower of Babel, the goal of which was to reach to heaven, so the Spiritual Babylon has finally achieved the ancient goal---Her sins have reached heaven!    (Revelation 16:1- 21) The wrath of God upon the earth!   This is the beginning of the series of Calamites that have befallen and have yet to befall the papacy and those who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image.

1) The first angel poured the bowl of God's wrath upon the earth. There fell an ugly and Painful Sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast and upon them who worship the image. 2) The Second bowl upon the Sea became as the blood of a dead man and every living thing died in the sea. 3) The third angel poured out bowl upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood. 4) The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the Sun; and power was given to him to scorch men with fire and men were scorch with intense heat, and blasphemed the name of God, who had power over these plagues and they repented NOT to give him glory. 5) The fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was plunged into darkness; and men gnawed their tongue for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and repented not of their deeds. 6) The sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof dried up, that way the kings of the east might be prepared the king of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that Great day of God Almightily.   He gather them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armagedon! 7) The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, "It is done!" Then came flashes of thunders, lightning's, and there was a Great earthquake, no such like it since men were upon the earth, so tremendous was the earthquake.  

The great city was spit into three parts, and the cities of nations collapsed. And Great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give her the cup of wine fury of God's wrath.   Every island fled away, and the mountains could not be found. There fell upon men a great Stone out of the sky. Every stone about 100 pounds and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding terrible.

    (Revelation 19:20-23; 19:1-9)  Rejoice over her (the Harlot), thou

heaven, and ye Holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her. For by her sorceries were all nations deceived.   And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.    I (John) heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; "Salvation, glory, honor, and Power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments, for he has Judge the Great Whore! who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand."

Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.   Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) has come and his wife (the True bride/Church) has made herself ready.   And to her was granted that she should array in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. He said unto me, Write, blessed are they, which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. He said unto me, (John apostle), These are the true sayings of God.

(Revelation 1:7)  Behold, Christ comes with clouds; and every eye shall See Him, and they who pierced him.   And ALL people of the earth shall mourn because of Him. Even so Amen! (Jude 14) Enoch the Seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints.   To execute judgment on everyone and to convict them of ALL their ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all their harsh words, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

(I Cor. 15: 23-28)  Then the end will come, when He (Christ) shall handle

over the Kingdom to God, even the Father, after he put down ALL rule, and all authority and power.   For He must Reign Until He put ALL enemies under his feet? The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. When Christ has done this subdued unto him, then shall the Son also Himself be made subject unto Him (Father), that God may be all in all.