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When the Pope was flying to Cuba,he was talking to reporters and mentioned all of his apologies. i wish I could remember exactly what he said or could find it but it went something like this:"I have apologised for the Crusades,the Inquisition,anti-semitism,Galilio and to various and other peoples and countries. I have asked for forgiveeness for those times and events where men who were Catholic have transgressed and caused harm or injury or pain to you and/or those who came before you".

He then said:"They have accepted my apologies on behalf of Catholic men who had erred but interestingly,none have paused to even wonder if their ancestors may have trangressed against us". I really got a hearty laugh out of that,the Pope so understates things. Obviously the reporter caught on but I never heard another word about it. However,I have not heard the Pope apologise to anyone since. i really thought he was attempting to get people and nations to examine their own consciences or national consciences but had no clue on how averse folks are to accepting responsibility for their own sins and crimes.

BTW,I always thought the Monica affair was dusted up and thrown out to bring the TV coverage of the Pope's visit to Cuba to a halt. The media was worried lest people start thinking seriously about religion and Catholicism. If you recall the whole thing broke the evening before the official visit began. All of the big newsmen were down in Cuba and had to get toodling back to D.C. that night. The Pope arrived but few cameras and no notable newspersons were there.

Something less drastic but similar happened when the Pope came to Denver.CBS,at least in Phoenix,was set to do a 20 minute segment on the Pope,just as it started it was interrupted and we got 20 minutes of a scene in a CChicago police station. They were showing people storming the front desk of a Chicago precinct house,supposedly because they had just learned that the body of Micheal Jordon's father had been found. He had been murdered in the south,strangest thing,never could understand it except in terms of providing an exuse not to cover the Pope.