Pope Apologizes To Indigenous Canadians for Abuse
Indigenous Canadians during the meeting held this Thursday with Pope Francis (c), who was urged to make a public request for forgiveness and to visit Canada to do so directly in their country for the abuses who suffered in the boarding schools managed by the Catholic Church during the processes of forced assimilation of the last century |
Indigenous Canadians during the meeting held this Thursday with Pope Francis (c), who was urged to make a public request for forgiveness and to visit Canada to do so directly in their country for the abuses who suffered in the boarding schools managed by the Catholic Church during the processes of forced assimilation of the last century |
Photo: EFE/ Divisione Produzione Fotografica
TeleSUR
Published 1 April 2022
Pope Francis apologized for the abuse and discrimination that indigenous children suffered in Catholic schools in Canada in a meeting with representatives of Canadian indigenous peoples.
"I feel pain and shame for the role that several Catholics, particularly with educational responsibilities, played in all that hurt you, in the abuses and the lack of respect for your identity, culture, and spiritual values," Francis declared.
According to him, "for the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask God's forgiveness and I would like to tell you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brother Canadian bishops in apologizing."
"It is chilling to think of the will to instigate a sense of inferiority, to make someone lose their cultural identity, to cut off roots, with all the personal and social consequences that this has entailed and continues to entail: unresolved traumas, which have become intergenerational traumas," the pontiff added.
In May 2021, the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of a former school in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Between 1890 and 1969, the school was run by the Catholic Church, after which it passed under the control of the Government of Canada and ceased to exist in 1978.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report released in 2015, approximately 150,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly assimilated through residential schools from 1883 to 1998, in a process tantamount to "cultural genocide."
The report found that about 3,200 died in the schools, with the highest number of deaths occurring before 1940.
The schools also had high rates of tuberculosis and other health incidences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and mortality rates remained high until the 1950s.
TeleSUR
Published 1 April 2022
Pope Francis apologized for the abuse and discrimination that indigenous children suffered in Catholic schools in Canada in a meeting with representatives of Canadian indigenous peoples.
"I feel pain and shame for the role that several Catholics, particularly with educational responsibilities, played in all that hurt you, in the abuses and the lack of respect for your identity, culture, and spiritual values," Francis declared.
According to him, "for the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask God's forgiveness and I would like to tell you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brother Canadian bishops in apologizing."
"It is chilling to think of the will to instigate a sense of inferiority, to make someone lose their cultural identity, to cut off roots, with all the personal and social consequences that this has entailed and continues to entail: unresolved traumas, which have become intergenerational traumas," the pontiff added.
In May 2021, the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of a former school in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Between 1890 and 1969, the school was run by the Catholic Church, after which it passed under the control of the Government of Canada and ceased to exist in 1978.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report released in 2015, approximately 150,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly assimilated through residential schools from 1883 to 1998, in a process tantamount to "cultural genocide."
The report found that about 3,200 died in the schools, with the highest number of deaths occurring before 1940.
The schools also had high rates of tuberculosis and other health incidences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and mortality rates remained high until the 1950s.
By Amy Judd Global News
Posted April 1, 2022
Pope Francis has apologized for the abuse cause by church-run residential schools in Canada. Paul Haysom talks with Grand Chief Stewart Phillip to get his reaction.
Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.
Mixed reaction is pouring in from coast to coast following Pope Francis‘ apology for the grave and lasting harm caused by the church- and state-sponsored residential school system.
B.C. First Nations leaders say this is a historic moment and it is the beginning of a load road to reconciliation.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the B.C. Indian Chiefs told Global News he was uplifted by the apology he heard.
READ MORE: ‘A road to healing’: Pope’s apology lauded by Manitoba Indigenous leaders
“I was absolutely surprised, I wasn’t expecting this. It’s a double-wow Friday for sure. The sun is shining on the Vatican and our people have waited for a very very long time to hear those beautiful words whereby the Pope, the Vaitcan has taken responsibility and has acknowledged the genocidal abuses of the residential school system and has committed to Canada and meeting with Indigenous people to continue this journey along this path after the door has been opened, fully opened,” Phillip said.
He added that Friday’s events made it a “great day” for all Canadians, saying all of the issues of anger, guilt, resentment and shame now have a chance to be dealt with through the apology and forgiveness.
“Today is a day for celebration,” Phillip said.
“I think that the apology and what that represents is an opportunity for all Canadians to begin to know and understand we are truly family. We are in this together and we need to lift each other up, hold each other up and create a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
However, other leaders are more cautious about the apology from the Pope.
‘The apology has a long way to go’: B.C. First Nations react to Pope’s apology
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson, an executive with the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said that when she first heard the Pope’s apology, she immediately thought of the hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children who were removed from their homes and families and forced to attend residential schools and those who didn’t make it home.
“The Pope’s apology is too late, obviously. What we’re talking about is international crimes against humanity. An apology isn’t a get out of jail card.”
She said there needs to be full accountability from the church and the federal government and that has not happened yet.
READ MORE: Pope Francis apologizes for residential schools at Vatican: ‘I ask for God’s forgiveness’
She would have liked to see the delegation in Rome be led by survivors of residential schools who still feel like their voices have not been heard at an international level.
“Even now it’s a third-party type of an apology so it’s not truly (an apology),” she said, adding she has heard from many survivors who feel the same.
Pope issues apology for Church role in Residential schools
In a livestreamed audience with more than 190 Indigenous survivors, elders, knowledge keepers, youth and leaders, the Pope said he was “deeply grieved” by the stories of abuse, hardship and discrimination he heard throughout the week.
“All this made me feel two things very strongly — indignation and shame,” the Pope said Friday, before a packed room at the Vatican. “Indignation, because it is not right to accept evil, and even worse to grow accustomed to evil as if it were an inevitable part of the historical process.
“All these things are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church — I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart, I am very sorry.”
READ MORE: ‘What drove me is the children’: Longest-serving chief in Canada presses Pope for justice
For Wilson, she wants to see what the Pope says the church is going to do next.
“They need to release the records for sure,” she said. “It’s going to be a long, hard road for many of the areas that need to be done.
“Every single family has been impacted by this in one way or another.”
She said the apology still has a long way to go.
“The Pope’s apology is just words right now. It needs to be backed up by action. It needs to be backed up by commitment by both state government and churches to resolve this genocidal legacy our people have been impacted upon by residential schools.”
AFN Regional Chief says Pope Francis' apology 'long overdue' but more needs to be done
close videoAFN Regional Chief says Pope Francis’ apology ‘long overdue’ but more needs to be done
For Phillip, the apology was a bigger step forward and said the most powerful thing on the face of the earth is forgiveness.
“Forgiveness sets us free. Forgiveness releases us of anger and resentment.”
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.
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