Lenten 2000 Message
Cardinal Roger Mahony
Archbishop of Los Angeles

With a stark sense of reality, Pope John Paul II has repeatedly called attention to the miseries and tragedies of our times, to the immense suffering of whole peoples. He urges all peoples and nations, and first and foremost the Church itself, to make an examination of conscience and engage in repentance which bears fruit in inner conversion and in just action.

In his various addresses and writings in the years of preparation for the Jubilee, our Holy Father has spoken of several realities which are linked with this call to conversion. They include the apologies given to the people of Africa and Latin America for the ways in which the Church ignored and disregarded their culture, the apology to women for the ways in which they have been excluded from the life of the Church, the inquiry into the history of the Inquisition, and most of all the repentant address to the Jewish people in their affliction.

The Holy Father urges us to seek out the roots of violence and injustice. Uncovering these roots in the human heart is necessary for engendering healing and hope for reconciliation. In particular, Christians and the followers of other religions that profess belief in the one God are invited to ask themselves how far they have lived and acted outside the faith they profess. All are invited to share in the Jubilee by renewing their commitment to human solidarity and increasing their efforts to alleviate suffering, thereby giving a greater share in the gains of our century to those excluded from them.

For those who profess faith in Christ at the dawn of the new millennium, our Holy Father has mapped out the road to reconciliation. It is a way of confession, repentance, forgiveness. It is the way of reconciliation with the Father through Christ and in the Spirit within the Church. But in this way of reconciliation, there is no bypassing those persons and whole groups of people whose pardon we must seek.

As followers of Christ we must be prepared to forgive and ask forgiveness not just seven times but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-35). As a Church we are aware of more sins than we can fully enumerate here. As the Archbishop of Los Angeles, I would invite all of us to focus on several groups and issues within our Local Church of Los Angeles for which we offer apology and seek forgiveness, cognizant of the fact the Holy Father is offering apology and asking forgiveness on a wider scale.

You and I can only sincerely ask for forgiveness, acknowledge that we have done wrong, if there is a firm purpose of amendment. This is consonant with our Catholic sense of not just looking backward, but also looking forward. There is no saving value in simply naming a group or issue unless we have some real firm purpose of amendment, for example, in terms of a real program that seeks to redress the wrong, or some Archdiocesan policy or procedure to bring about needed change.

I would begin by expressing my personal apologies to everyone in the Archdiocese whom I have offended in my pastoral ministry by a lack of patience and understanding, through my pride and lack of charity, and by my rush to judge others without adequately hearing other points of view. In a special way, I apologize to my brother priests, women and men religious, deacons, and lay leaders for intemperate remarks--orally or in writing--that failed to value their extraordinary commitment and zealous ministry in our Archdiocese. I will continue my efforts to be more humble, generous, kind, considerate, and supportive to all within the Archdiocese.

I express apologies to all for the attitude of many of us within the Church to those who are "other," such as those of other cultures, languages, ethnic backgrounds, and immigration status. This type of stereotyping is very hurtful, and we all need to see the face of Christ in one another, offering respect and understanding. We must continue our many efforts at all levels to bring people together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.

I offer my apologies for the sin of silence (omission) in the face of hatred, political policy, prejudice, violence, intolerance here in Southern California over the years. For example, there was much confusion surrounding Proposition 14 to repeal the Rumford Housing Act. Our Local Church could have voiced more fully our objection to segregation in housing. We continue our efforts to overcome prejudice at all levels of our local society, and have undertaken many successful programs to create housing for our poorer families.

One of the deeper wounds experienced here in our Local Church following the Second Vatican Council was the tension and stress between the Archdiocese and the Immaculate Heart Sisters. Without trying to re-visit the facts and details of that unfortunate dispute, I wish to apologize to all who felt hurt and rejection by the Church during those years. In a special way, I apologize to all Women Religious in our Archdiocese who may have felt slighted, not fully appreciated, or discriminated against in any way. I here acknowledge and give thanks for their extraordinary and generous service to the Church in our Archdiocese.

For some years now the Archdiocese has tried to bring women into all levels of the Church's life and ministry, especially in leadership roles. I pledge my resolve to continue to reach out to women throughout our Local Church and to invite them to place their gifts and talents at the service of the Church at every level possible.

I apologize to those individuals, families, and parish communities who have suffered because of clergy sexual abuse, one of the more tragic scourges afflicting the Church in the latter part of the past century. Thorough and firm policies and procedures are in place to deal with misconduct of any kind among our clergy and those in ministry, and I promise to continue our vigilance against violating that needed trust between our people and those who serve them.

I ask pardon of our Catholic homosexual and lesbian members when the Church has appeared to be non-supportive of their struggles or of falling into homophobia. The Archdiocese has tried to make amends by establishing a special outreach ministry to our homosexual and lesbian brothers and sisters, by including them fully in the life of our parishes, and by being attentive to protecting their civil rights.

I wish to express apology for our lack of outreach, lack of sensitivity, and lack of adequate pastoral programs in the past for our divorced and remarried Catholics. Fortunately, great strides have been taken in the Archdiocese to create special support programs for these members, and I pledge our continuing efforts to assist them.

In the past, the relationship of the Archdiocese and organized labor has been uneven. I express my apologies to working people throughout Southern California if our attitude and efforts failed to value working people and their legitimate right to seek self-organization. In recent years, the Archdiocese has taken concrete steps to improve our relationship with organized labor and to serve in a role of reconciliation and mediation where disputes exist, and I promise to continue these efforts. Our Church-Labor dialogues are a concrete way to improve helping our families to achieve greater economic strength.

Since we live in the very heart of the television and motion picture industry, it is necessary for us to express our apologies for stereotyping and placing blame. Some make negative comments about movies and the media, and their negative influence on culture, and all too quickly assign that negative influences to members of the Jewish community. In other ways, too, the Jewish people and their faith have been stereotyped and made the object of insult, jokes, and generalizations.

Similarly, when terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalist groups are depicted in the news media, it is crucial to sort through these in order that we do not view the Islamic faith itself in a negative light. The religion of Islam is portrayed by some as barbaric, primitive, restrictive, and without any contribution to the family of peoples. Islam is often identified directly with terrorism, and easily becomes the universal villain. But as we know, the Islamic faith teaches love, respect, family values, and a deep responsibility for improving the common good for all peoples.

These negative comments about Jews and Muslims are more, then, about the way we allow negative stereotypes to affect us as individuals and as a society. We offer our apologies to both of these groups in particular, but also to all groups who have been subjected to unfair characterization--often based on ignorance and prejudice. We need to continue our efforts at creating understanding and acceptance among all peoples here in our Local Church.

Obviously, there are many other areas in which I and the Archdiocese need to express apologies and to seek pardon. I have highlighted nine of these from our history, and would extend that expression of apology and invitation to forgiveness to all who in any way have not been properly recognized and treated by our Local Church over the years.

As we begin our Lenten Journey in the Great Jubilee Year 2000, may I invite each one of you to reflect deeply in your own heart and soul in order to determine to whom you might need to extend apologies, seek forgiveness, and share generously the grace of reconciliation. Let us together create a more harmonious world as we become those unique instruments of reconciliation, harmony, and peace.

I conclude with these words from the Preface for the Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
in the midst of conflict and division, we know it is you who turn
our minds to thoughts of peace. Your Spirit changes our hearts:
enemies begin to speak to one another, those who were estranged
join hands in friendship, and nations seek the way of peace together.
Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife,
when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives way to
forgiveness.
For this we should never cease to thank you praise you!