Pope Francis asked forgiveness
Monday on behalf of all Catholics for the "persecution" of
Pentecostals during remarks in southern Italy.
The pope said Catholics in the past were "tempted by the
devil" when they contributed to the harsh treatment of
Pentecostal members during Italy's Fascist era.
"Among those who have persecuted and denounced the
Pentecostals, almost as if they were crazies about to ruin the
race, there were also Catholics," Francis said during his second
visit in three days to Caserta, a city near Naples.
"I am the shepherd of the Catholics, and I ask forgiveness
for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand
and were tempted by the devil".
During the Fascist period in Italy, in the 1920s and 1930s
in particular, Pentecostal members were persecuted by
authorities, with the Church's complicity.
Pentecostalism is a Protestant faith that emphasizes a
direct, personal relationship with God which is different from
the Catholic Church, which includes its pope, priests and the
sacraments as crucial to the relationship between God and
individuals.
Later, Francis dined on local buffalo mozzarella cheese
during a lunch with members of Pentecostal churches in
Argentina, Canada, India, Spain and France, and met with an old
friend, Italian Pentecostal pastor Giovanni Traettino.
The pair got to know each other in Buenos Aires when
Francis was the archbishop of the Argentine capital, the Vatican
said earlier this month.
The pope spoke to about 350 members of Traettino's
Evangelical Church of Reconciliation, where Francis quoted from
St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians as he emphasized the
importance of diversity.
Francis spoke of the diversity of the body of Christ and
stressed that this diversity becomes unity through the action of
the Holy Spirit.
Since his election almost 18 months ago, the pope has
worked to reach out to other faiths through meetings with
leaders of Protestant groups, as well as senior Jewish and
Muslim leaders.
He has also met with Pentecostal members over the past year
at the Vatican guesthouse where the pope lives, Vatican Radio
reported.
Francis was also in Caserta on Saturday, where he repeated
his message denouncing the mafia.
The province of Caserta is the base of the infamous
Caselesi clam of Campania's Camorra mafia syndicate.
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