Sir, - The Church's position on the slave trade (Letters, September 17th and 29th) has been critically questioned by the present Pope.
Some Vatican observers believe that John Paul II's great project for the year 2000 is a solemn "mea culpa" - a global repentance to purify the Catholic Church of its past errors. In a seven-page memorandum, sent by the Vatican Secretariat to the 140 cardinals (April 1994), the Pope wrote: "How can we keep silent about all the forms of violence that have been perpetrated in the name of faith?"
Luigi Accattoli, a former religious correspondent for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, tells in his recently published book of the 94 "mea culpas" by the present Pope. John Paul II publicly acknowledged many wrongs and mistakes made by the Church, and asked forgiveness for the sins and crimes committed by Catholics in past centuries. To mention some: wars of religion, crusades, persecutions, inquisitorial tribunals, slave-trading, various forms of racism and intolerance, the Great Schism, the condemnation of Galileo, women's position and sex discrimination.
Apparently, the Pope's critical review of Catholic Church history does not always receive a warm reception within his own Church. Some cardinals and bishops, particularly from the ex-Communist countries and from Latin America, prefer to concentrate on contemporary problems rather than beat their breasts for 2,000 years of history. But the Pope insists - and I quote from his apostolic letter Tertio Millenio ("As the 3rd Millenium Approaches") - that "the truth cannot be imposed except by the force of the truth itself." - Yours, etc.,
Woodley Park, Dublin 14.