Recently President Biden apologized for the treatment of native children at government sponsored reservation schools. Similar apologies have been extended in the Catholic Church for the abuse and dehumanizing treatment at schools run by the Church. The prevailing cultural ethos is to never admit wrong-doing. “Don’t explain, don’t complain” goes the public relations mantra. To this way of thinking to apologize makes one appear weak. Contrast that with the words of Jesus: “there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Repenting of wrong-doing is not weakness at all but demonstrates that one is capable of facing even the negative aspects of ones life. Repenting of past wrongs makes it possible to change for the better. As St. John Henry Newman put it, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
