ROME — Pope Francis apologized for Catholic mistreatment of other Christian traditions Monday, and called on Catholics to forgive followers of those traditions for any offenses of “today and in the past,” as a step toward deeper unity.
“As Bishop of Rome and Shepherd of the Catholic Church, I plead for mercy and forgiveness for non-evangelical behaviors by Catholics against Christians of other churches,” Francis said, referring to conduct not in keeping with the Gospel of Christ.
“We cannot undo what was done in the past, but we don’t want to allow the weight of past sins to pollute our relationships,” he said. “The mercy of God will renew our relations.”
The pope’s comments came during a multi-denominational vespers service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. As is tradition, the service was celebrated to mark the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and also the close of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs each year from Jan. 18 to 25.
Representatives of various Christian churches present in Rome, such as Anglicans, Orthodox, and Pentecostals, participated in the service.
The pope called for the denominations to ask “above all the forgiveness for the sin of our division, an open wound in the Body of Christ.” – CRUX Magazine
Interesting the word “Wound is mentioned 4 times in Revelation 13.
Revelation 13:14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
