6.1 The Pastoral Aims
The following are some of the pastoral
reasons for acknowledging the faults of the past.
First, these acts tend towards the purification
of memory, which – as noted above – is a process aimed at a new evaluation
of the past, capable of having a considerable effect on the present, because
past sins frequently make their weight felt and remain temptations in the
present as well. Above all, if the causes of possible resentment for evils
suffered and the negative influences stemming from what was done in the past
can be removed as a result of dialogue and the patient search for mutual
understanding with those who feel injured by words and deeds of the past, such
a removal may help the community of the Church grow in holiness through
reconciliation and peace in obedience to the Truth. “Acknowledging the
weaknesses of the past,” the Pope emphasizes, “is an act of honesty and courage
which helps us to strengthen our faith, which alerts us to face today’s
temptations and challenges, and prepares us to meet them.”91 To that
end, it is good that the remembering of faults also includes all possible
omissions, even if only some of these are mentioned frequently today. One
should not forget the price paid by many Christians for their fidelity to the
Gospel and for their service to their neighbor in charity. 92
A second pastoral aim, closely connected to
the first, is the promotion of the continual reform of the People of God.
“Therefore, if the influence of events or of the times has led to deficiencies
in moral conduct, in Church discipline, or even in the way in which doctrine is
expressed (which must be carefully distinguished from the deposit of the faith
itself), these should be appropriately rectified at the proper
moment.”93 All of the baptized are called to “examine their fidelity to
the will of Christ concerning the Church, and as required, strenuously
undertake the work of renewal and reform.”94 The criterion of true
reform and of authentic renewal must be fidelity to the will of God regarding
his people95 that presupposes a sincere effort to free oneself from all
that leads away from his will, whether we are dealing with present faults or
the inheritance from the past.
A further aim can be seen to be the witness
that the Church gives to the God of mercy and to his liberating and saving
Truth, from the experience which she has had and continues to have of him in
history. There is also the service which the Church in this way gives to
humanity to help overcome current evils. John Paul II states that “many
Cardinals and Bishops expressed the desire for a serious examination of
conscience above all on the part of the Church today. On the threshold of the
new millennium Christians need to place themselves humbly before the Lord and
examine themselves on the responsibility which they too have for the evils of
our day”96 in order to help overcome them in obedience to the splendor
of saving Truth.
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