The Holy Door is an actual door entering into the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, that is ceremoniously opened by the Pope at the beginning of each Holy Year, and remains open throughout the year as pilgrims enter St. Peter's Basilica. At the year's end, it is sealed from the inside of the Basilica with bricks and mortar, until the next Jubilee year. The Holy Door symbolically represents Christ the Savior who said: "Whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). It also represents the heart of the believer who allows God to enter and dwell within. The Holy Door tradition was begun in 1500 under Pope Alexander VI. The present door, a gift of the Swiss Catholics in 1949, is decorated with biblical scenes of redemption and forgiveness, with a special focus on the Mercy parables of the Gospels.

With this bold statement, Pope John Paul II calls on the Church, collectively as an institution as well as individually in her members, to honestly and courageously look at past neglects and weaknesses. In his Apostolic Letter, the Pope acknowledges that the Church of the past 1000 years has, at times, been indifferent and has failed to act with courage in the face of certain societal ills. He specifically cites sins against the unity of God's people and the wounding of the ecclesial communion (#34); of intolerance, and even the use of violence in the name of truth (#35); of silence in the face of religious indifference (#36); of lack of discernment that has ignored violation of basic human rights in totalitarian regimes, or has shared in the responsibility for grave forms of injustice and exclusion (#36); and for the times that the teachings of Vatican Council II have received a poor reception (#36). Only a Church that can admit and repent of these shadow moments in her history, can be purified and strengthened in faith to become aware of today's challenges in order to creatively meet them.