Apparently the Pope made a vague apology the other day for unspecified transgressions, and the media world has reacted with a bit of raised eyebrow.
Not knowing the first thing of Catholic doctrine, I won’t opine, but it did make me think a bit about Judaism and how it views forgiveness and apology.
The basic story as I understand it is that if your offense is against a fellow person, you’re not in a position to make right with God until you have first made every effort to correct the offense and seek forgiveness from the person you wronged. The wronged person is also under an obligation to grant forgiveness after receiving an earnest apology and reasonable recompense. It is only after that process is complete that you’re all ready to move on.
It’s interesting, and one of the thoughtful bits of Judaism that I really admire.
For you, I would say this counts as a “religion” post.