Rome will never apologize
William Branham taught that the Roman Catholic Church would never repent of any of the evil it has committed on the basis of Revelation 2:21 which states:
- And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.[1]
But is this correct?
It is clear that the Roman Catholic Church had never repented or apologized prior to William Branham's death in 1965. but that certainly is not true today.
Some of the apologies issued by the Roman Catholic Church
The following is not a comprehensive list but includes some of the more important apologies:
August 14, 1985: Pope John Paul II apologizes for the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in the African slave trade.
September 30, 1997: The French Roman Catholic Church apologizes for its role during the Holocaust and its silence during 1940 Vichy regime.
March 17, 1998: Pope John Paul II apologizes for the silence and inaction of the Roman Catholic Church during the Holocaust.
September 2, 1999: Pope John Paul II asks forgiveness for the past errors of the Catholic Church but did not specify any such errors.
December 18, 1999: Pope John Paul II apologizes for the execution of religious reformer Jan Hus in 1415.
March 12, 2000: Pope John Paul II asks forgiveness for the sins of Catholics throughout the ages. During a public Mass of Pardon, the Pope says that "Christians...have violated the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures and religious traditions..."
The Pope sought pardon for seven categories of sin: general sins; sins in the service of truth; sins against Christian unity; against the Jews; against respect for love, peace and cultures; against the dignity of women and minorities; and against human rights.
Ethnic groups had endured "contempt for their cultures and religious traditions". Women were "all too often humiliated and marginalised". Trust in wealth and power had obscured the church's responsibility to the poor and oppressed.
Five Vatican cardinals and two bishops confessed sins on behalf of the church during the ceremony. Cardinal Edward Cassidy recalled the "sufferings of the people of Israel" asked divine pardon for the "sins committed by not a few [Catholics] against the people of the covenant". Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the congregation of the doctrine of the faith, confessed to the sins of the congregation's predecessor, the Inquisition.
The Pope had previously apologized for the crusades, the massacre of French Protestants, the trial of Galileo and anti-semitism. Speaking after the ceremony to the crowd in St Peter's Square, the Pope stressed he was seeking forgiveness not from those who had been wronged, but from God. "Only he can do that."
September 5, 2000: Canada's Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and United churches apologize to Eskimos and Indians for decades of abuse by white church officials.
May 28, 2001: The Roman Catholic Church of Poland apologizes for complicity in the killing of 1,6000 Jews in Jedwabne during World War II.
November 22, 2001: Pope John Paul II issues an apology for sex abuse by priests.
Quotes of William Branham
Revelation 2:21, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” Do you know that this church was actually more wicked than Ahab? Do you know that he repented for awhile and walked softly before God? You can’t say that of the Roman Catholic Church. No sir. She has never repented but has stubbornly destroyed any and all who tried to help her repent. That is history. Now God kept raising up not only the messengers to each age but He raised up some wonderful helpers for those messengers. He gave every age some wonderful men of God and they did everything they could to bring the church back to God. God certainly gave her opportunity and help to repent. Did she ever repent and show she did by her fruits? No sir. She never has and she never will. She is drunk. She has lost her senses in spiritual things.
Now don’t be confused and start thinking that the Church of Rome has repented of her slaughter of the saints because she is attempting to unite with the Protestants by making her creeds to line up with Protestant Creeds. Not once has she ever apologized and said she was wrong for her mass murders. And she won’t either. And no matter how mellow and sweet she appears at this particular time, she will yet rise up to kill, for murder lies in her evil and unrepentant heart.[2]