Bolivia: Pope Apologizes For Catholic Church's 'Offenses' Against Indigenous Peoples

---

"I humbly ask forgiveness...for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post / AP
By Nicole Winfield, Jacobo Garcia
Dated: July 9, 2015

[Excerpt]

Pope Francis apologized Thursday for the sins and "offenses" committed by the Catholic Church against indigenous peoples during the colonial-era conquest of the Americas.

History's first Latin American pope "humbly" begged forgiveness during an encounter in Bolivia with indigenous groups and other activists and in the presence of Bolivia's first-ever indigenous president, Evo Morales.

Francis noted that Latin American church leaders in the past had acknowledged "grave sins were committed against the native peoples of America in the name of God." St. John Paul II, for his part, apologized to the continent's indigenous for the "pain and suffering" caused during the 500 years of the church's presence on the continent during a 1992 visit to the Dominican Republic.

But Francis went farther.

"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," he said to applause and cheers from the crowd.

Earlier in the day, Francis denounced the "throwaway" culture of today's society that discards anyone who is unproductive as he celebrated his first public Mass in Bolivia.

[ more ...]


Read original post here: Bolivia: Pope Apologizes For Catholic Church's 'Offenses' Against Indigenous Peoples


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times. Ahmadiyya Times is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.