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Pope John Paul II stated: ''"For occassions past and present when the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by actions and omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of Him." '' Many Orthodox regard this as a 'political' apology for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, as well as for other issues, but it was clearly not in any way or form a 'religious/doctrinal' apology on the part of the Roman Catholic Church. In April 2004, in a speech on the 800th anniversary of the city’s capture, Patriarch Bartholomew formally accepted the apology. “''The spirit of reconciliation is stronger than hatred,”'' he said during a liturgy attended by Roman Catholic Archbishop Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France. ''“We receive with gratitude and respect your cordial gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade. It is a fact that a crime was committed here in the city 800 years ago.”'' Bartholomew said his acceptance came in the spirit of Easter. ''“The spirit of reconciliation of the resurrection … incites us toward reconciliation of our churches.”'' ([http://www.incommunion.org/articles/issue-33/news-issue-33 1])