” “We must “learn how to sincerely live Christian penance”, humbly, but without “indulging in easy accusations”. This is the Pope’s invitation to the Polish priests, continuing what had been stated on several occasions by his predecessor. “Pope John Paul II, on the occasion of the Great Jubilee, had exhorted the Christians many a time to do penance for the past unfaithfulness”, recalled Benedict XVI as he gave his second speech in the cathedral of Warsaw: “We think the Church is sacred but there are sinners within it. We must reject the wish to identify ourselves only with those who are without sin. How could the Church drive sinners out? It is for their salvation that Jesus became incarnate, died and resurrected. So, we must learn to sincerely live Christian penance”. Then, the Holy Father spoke in detail of what soul searching means for the Church: “It’s better to steer clear he said of the claim of arrogantly setting ourselves up as judges of the previous generations, who lived in different times and different circumstances. Humble sincerity is needed not to deny the sins of the past, and however we must not indulge in easy accusations when there are no real proofs or neglecting the different biases of those times”. “When we ask forgiveness for the evil done in the past he concluded we must also remember the good accomplished with the help of God’s grace who, although contained in clay vessels, has often born excellent fruit”.
