Queen and Pope to admit religious mistakes 
 Christopher Morgan, Religious Affairs Correspondent 

 THE Queen and the Pope will express regret about bitter religious conflicts
 of the past when they meet next month. Unlike meetings with other heads of
 state, the Pope is conscious that when he welcomes the Queen he will also be
 receiving the supreme governor of the Church of England.

 The statement may refer to the suppression of Catholicism in England after
 the Reformation in the 16th century and the subsequent exclusion of Catholics
 from public life until the 19th century. It could also express sorrow for
 abuses inflicted on Irish Catholics by the British over hundreds of years. 

 John Paul II has made a point of marking the millennium year (described by
 Catholics as the jubilee year) as a time for atoning for sins. In March he
 begged forgiveness for the sins of Catholics over 2,000 years. 

 The Pope's apologetic mood has coincided with Tony Blair's wish to atone for
 the past. The prime minister has apologised for the Irish potato famine and
 to the unjustly jailed Guildford Four. He will play a part in drafting the
 Queen's message to the Pope.

 Extract from the "Sunday Times" UK
 September 3 2000

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"Perceptions" comment:-

 Are we naive to hope either might apologize for persistent (and ongoing)
 financial, physical and sexual abuse of ordinary people (and their children),
 by Church and State?

 and priests ?  Ed.   

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