Pope Francis seeks Protestant forgiveness for past persecution

(christiantoday.com) Pope Francis asked Protestants and other Christian Churches for forgiveness for past persecution by Catholics as the Vatican announced on Monday he would visit Sweden later in the year to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Speaking at an annual vespers service in St Paul's Basilica in Rome attended by representatives of other Churches, he asked "forgiveness for the un-gospel like behaviour by Catholics towards Christians of other Churches". He also asked Catholics to forgive those who had persecuted them.

The Vatican announced that on October 31 Francis would go to the southern Swedish city of Lund, where the Lutheran World Federation was founded in 1947, for a joint service with Lutherans to launch Reformation commemorations that will continue throughout the world next year.

Martin Luther, a German, is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation in 1517 with writing 95 theses – said to have been nailed to a church door in Wittenberg – criticising the CatholicChurch for selling forgiveness from sins for money.

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