Pope Francis asks the Waldensians for Forgiveness
in the Name of the Catholic Church
On 15 December 1853, while the first Protestant church of Italy outside the
Alpine ‘ghetto’ was inaugurated in Turin, the bells of all the other (obviously
Roman Catholic) churches were tolling as if for a funeral. Don Bosco (now a
saint), though he did a great deal of social work, especially among deprived
boys, was a sworn enemy of the Waldensians and never ceased opposing
them in every possible way.
It was in that very church, itself a great achievement of General Beckwith,
who through our Committee raised the money for its construction, that on
22 June this year Pope Francis, on the behalf of the Roman Catholic Church,
begged the Waldensians for forgiveness for the ‘un-Christian, even inhuman
way’ they were treated over the centuries. The Moderator Eugenio Bernardini
welcomed his words on the behalf of the Waldensian Church and underlined
that Ecumenism is a work in progress and that the only way forward is
recognising and accepting each other’s differences in ‘reconciled diversity’.
With them were Oscar Oudri, Moderator of the Waldensian Church of Rio
de La Plata, whom Francis knew from his South American days, and who
had flown to Turin for the occasion, the minister of the church, pastor Paolo
Ribet, the President of the Consistory, Sergio Velluto, and deacon Alessandra
Trotta, President of the OPCEMI (the Outreach of the Methodist