Pope asks pardon for church's crimes against indigenous people

“Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the Earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It’s a moral obligation"

If this guy could just drop the dogmas which hurt the poor including the ban on contraception, I'd applaud him. He's certainly winding up the rich hypocrites who call themselves Christians.

Credit to him for apologizing for the disgraceful barbarism of the past.

Francis “humbly” begged forgiveness Thursday at a gathering of indigenous leaders in Bolivia

Bravo Pope Francis. His rooting out arrogance from the Catholic Church, and it exists right down to the parish priest level, is one of the reasons I am proud to be a Catholic again. Props to all my old friends at the Francisan Chapel there in Tokyo.

@Jim, jerseyboy

Yep. I'm more of the right-footer persuasion, but can recognise he's a bit of a star....

I don't want to sound like a curmudgeon here but I think he talks a good game rather than delivers on the pitch. I like the idea of him emphasizing Jesus as a lefty but I'd like to see more concrete measures such as lifting the ban on contraception ( I know I'm repeating myself but this continued ban on it in the face of HIV is scandalous and deserves repeating given the terrible misery it causes ). The constant refrain of him facing opposition from the conservatives in the Vatican is starting to wear thin.

He's wooed the crowd with his style but I I'd to see him knocking a few goals in before we start calling him a star.

@Jim

Yeah, you've got a good point. I guess he'd argue that he doesn't have the right to lift the ban on contraception; it's God's law, not man's.

The C of E gets criticised for being wishy-washy, but life's a lot easier, though less clear-cut on this side of the fence ; )

@luca Give me wishy-washy over stubborn dogmatism anytime. I remember dear old Robert Runcie urinating all over Thatcher's amoral triumphalism after thrashing the Argies. A decent man. I'm sceptical of an established church but they have produced a few decent lads with decency and some self-deprecation. Who was the C of E fella who described his church as a senile old woman talking to herself? The world would be a better place if all organised religion was as relaxed and less fire and brimstone.

“I would also say, and here I wish to be quite clear, as was St. John Paul II: I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America,”

Nice words. How about, oh, I don't know, paying them for the land and resources taken.

In the past the Catholic Church did have a monopoly on barbarism. The whole world was like that honestly. However apologizing is a nice feel good thing until people realize they can now sue for money.... bat details....

'In the past the Catholic Church did have a monopoly on barbarism.'

No, it didn't. Other sects of Christianity carried out disgraceful acts of barbarism as did some other religions. So did others in the name of something other than religion.

Jimizo so only Christianity was barbaric? I think you are ignoring a lot of history there... the whole world was barbaric at that time... but hey right details, they dont matter to propagandists and historical revisionists...

'Jimizo so only Christianity was barbaric?

Which part of 'as did some other religions' and 'so did others in the name of something other than religion' didn't you catch?

Maybe I did jump the gun, I apologize.... But almost 100 percent of the world was barbaric at those times.... Today we will be judged in a similar matter in a few hundred years....

@hworta269

I'm not sure what you are getting at here. Surely the church which had god on its side and had a leader with a direct hotline to the almighty should have known that killing fellow Homo sapiens was wrong? I can understand the heathens committing atrocities but why didn't the people following the example of Jesus know better?

Moving into the present day, I'm waiting for an apology for the ban on condoms which has caused awful suffering to millions in the present day.

@Jim

I think I understand what hworta's getting at. It used to be that everybody was (nominally) Christian, so however uncivilised their behaviour, it was always "in the name of Christ" or whatever.

The Spanish didn't invade South America because they were Christians, they did it because they wanted gold. But because they were Christians they said they did it for God. So Christianity gets a bad rap.

Things are actually better today.