this article iis from the Guardian in
London.sat,Aug. 22 1998
| VATICAN REGRETS INQUISITION Rome - Pope John Paul II may soon add witches and heretics to the list of groups against which the Roman Catholic Church has sinned. On March 8, 2000, He is to lead a penitential procession from the Basilica of Santa Sabina to Rome's Circus Maximus and call for forgiveness for the historic failings of the church. Alongside the Jews, to whom the Pope has extended his apologies, will be representatives of those whom the Inquisition tortured and killed for their beliefs. The Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal established by Pope Gregory IX in 1233 to ferret out heretics. Its record, Best known for the cruel excesses in Spain, will be scrutinized by 50 historians invited to a conference at the Vatican in October. They were selected on the grounds of professional competence, irrespective of their faith, Said Rev. George Cottier, the Popes personal theologian. Z" It's not the task of the conference to rehabilitate victims of the Inquisition," He said. " if there are to be any rehabilitation's, that is the responsibility of the relevant authorities of the Holy See and, in the final analysis, of the Pope. Said historian Elena Aga-Rossi, " The Vatican's apology comes extremely late. This kind of admission of responsibility should have been made a very long time ago. It's one thing to ask forgiveness of the living, and quite another of the dead." Sent in by: Jeff Heuer, Fresno, CA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~dsertfox
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