TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Pope Francis apologises for 'pain and shame' of Canada residential schools

Pope Francis apologises for 'pain and shame' of Canada residential schools

Pope Francis has apologised to a Canadian indigenous delegation for the Catholic Church's role in the country's residential school system.

The schools, operated for more than a century, were run as part of government policy to assimilate indigenous children and destroy their cultures.

The Roman Catholic Church operated up to 70% of residential schools.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and indigenous leaders welcomed the Pope's apology, calling it a step forward.

Echoing other indigenous leaders gathered on Friday, Dene Nation National Chief Gerald Antoine called the papal apology "long overdue", saying it was a day "that will be lifted up in history".

Chief Antoine and his fellow leaders also said it will be important that a formal apology be made in Canada, one of the 94 "calls to action" released in 2015 stemming from the landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which looked into the legacy of residential schools.

The Pope on Friday confirmed he would make a trip to Canada later this year to meet indigenous communities and to assist with reconciliation efforts.

In his apology, Pope Francis said the residential schools caused him "pain and shame" and asked for God's forgiveness.

"For the deplorable behaviour of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness from God and I would like to tell you from the bottom of my heart that I am very pained," he said, speaking in Italian at the Vatican. "The content of faith cannot be transmitted in a way contrary to faith itself."

"I join my brother Canadian bishops in apologising," he added.

Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, thanked the Pope for his apology - delivered in "an empathic and caring way" - and said he was touched by the "way in which he [Pope Francis] expressed his sorrow and also the way in which he condemned the actions of the church in particular".

The pontiff was speaking to the whole delegation after separate private meetings during the week with its First Nations, Métis and Inuit representatives.

Friday's apology was the result of encounters between Pope Francis and indigenous leaders and residential school survivors, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement.

"Pope Francis was moved by their courage, their commitment and their resilience in the face of suffering," the statement said.

The visit by the delegation was organised by the conference, which has apologised for the suffering experienced at residential schools.

On Friday, Canadian Bishop William McGratten said the Catholic church in Canada held a "deep sense of gratitude" for the Pope's apology, and that it must be followed by action.

The church is committed to releasing records related to residential schools, he said, something that indigenous advocates have called for for years.

During the lifetime of the schools, an estimated 150,000 children were taken from their homes.

Many were subjected to abuse, illness and malnutrition and the TRC report called the residential schools system a central element of a policy of "cultural genocide".

Since last summer, thousands of unmarked graves, most believed to belong to former students, have been discovered at former school sites across the country.

Indigenous delegations unsuccessfully lobbied both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict for an apology. The latter issued a statement of regret in 2009, but without an acknowledgement of the church's wrongdoing.


Canada residential schools: "Six years old, I was imprisoned here"


Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×