From the mid-19th century through the 1970s, more than 150,000 native Canadian children were forced to leave their homes to attend residential schools, where they were often victims of abuse and neglect. The majority of these schools were jointly run by the Canadian government and Catholic religious orders.
The discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the site of Canada's largest Indigenous residential school in May has renewed calls for the Church to apologize for its role in operating the schools.
At his Sunday Angelus on June 6th, the Pope prayed for those traumatized by the discovery.
POPE FRANCIS
“This sad discovery further heightens awareness of the pain and sufferings of the past.”
Since then, several churches on Indigenous land have been burned down. Acts which community leaders says are counter to helping Indigenous communities heal.
ABP. RICHARD GAGNON
President, Canadian Catholic Bishops' Conference
“Both indigenous leaders and others have said this is no way to move forward with reconciliation, because for example on a given reserve the ones attending the churches are those who are practicing their Catholic faith, their faith is important for them, now they don't have a church anymore, so it kind of hurts the people that are attending the churches there.”
In 1991, Catholic bishops and religious communities in Canada issued apologies for their roles in running the schools.
Pope Benedict XVI received the Assembly of Canada's First Nations at the Vatican in 2009. There, he “expressed his sorrow at the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church.”
During his visit to the Vatican in 2017, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, invited Pope Francis to visit Canada to formally apologize for the Church's role in running many of the country's residential schools. A gesture which would carry significant implications for the Church.
ABP. RICHARD GAGNON
President, Canadian Catholic Bishops' Conference
“Asking for the Holy Father to render an apology has a strong symbolic aspect, because after all he symbolizes the whole Catholic faith. As opposed to the individual dioceses who were connected specifically with residential schools and entered into some kind of agreement with the federal government.”
Although the Pope said he would not “personally” be able to visit Canada, he has confirmed that he will meet with three groups of Indigenous Canadians in December. A significant opportunity for the Church to respond to the needs of Indigenous groups.
ABP. RICHARD GAGNON
President, Canadian Catholic Bishops' Conference
“There's a strong symbolism to this for the whole country and for indigenous people and the Church in general. The Holy Father, his methodology is to enter into dialogue, to listen, to respond, and so he'll have an opportunity of meeting residential school survivors and others, and to hear what the problems are unique to each one of those three groups, and have an opportunity to respond to them.”
Pope Francis was supposed to meet with Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors in 2020, yet the visit was pushed back due to the pandemic. As the search continues for more unmarked graves throughout Canada, attention is now shifting to how the Pope will respond to Indigenous Canadians in his meeting with them in December.
JM
