“All of these things are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the pope said at the Apostolic Palace. “For the deplorable behavior of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask your forgiveness and I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking forgiveness.”
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Francis also reiterated a promise made last year to visit Canada, where he said he was “better able” to show his “closeness”.
The pope was under renewed pressure to apologize for the church’s role in the boarding school system after several indigenous communities in Canada said last year that ground-penetrating radar had discovered evidence of hundreds of unmarked graves at or near the sites of former schools.
Beginning in the 19th century, at least 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families – often violently – to attend government-funded, church-based facilities set up to align them with what the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a Der 2015 report was “cultural genocide”.
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According to the report, children were punished for practicing their traditions or speaking their language, and many suffered various forms of abuse. It identified thousands of children dying in schools from diseases, malnutrition, suicide or attempted escapes, among other causes. Some were buried in unmarked graves.
The last school closed in the 1990s. Most were run by Catholic institutions. The Anglican, United and Presbyterian Churches of Canada, which ran some schools, have apologized for their role. But while some Catholic entities and local church leaders had apologized, Francis and his predecessors did not do so until Friday.
A papal apology on Canadian soil was among 94 appeals by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
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In his remarks, Francis said it was “terrifying to think of a determined effort to instill a sense of inferiority, to strip people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the social and personal struggles that this continues to entail.” brings: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas.”
Francis met separately with Métis, Inuit and First Nations delegates this week. The delegation, whose visit was delayed by the pandemic, consisted of Indigenous leaders, elders, youth and hostel survivors, who shared stories of their hostel experiences and the impact that is still unfolding in their communities.
Delegates also urged Francis to release records that could help identify the children who died or went missing in the schools. Some have also criticized the church for failing to meet its obligations under a 2006 class action lawsuit involving boarding school survivors.
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Others have called on the Vatican to repeal 15th-century papal bulls that contained the so-called doctrine of discovery used to justify colonization in America.
As so often, Pope Francis lamented on Friday “the many forms of political, ideological and economic colonization” that “still exist in the world, driven by greed and greed for profit, without regard for peoples, their history and traditions and the common homeland of creation.” .” He did not revoke the papal bulls.
During a visit this week to an Indigenous community in British Columbia that last year said it uncovered evidence of 93 possible unmarked graves, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who personally apologized to Francis in 2017 – said he was concerned with this “horrific… “ Chapters to deal with the story required a response from the Pope.
The federal government formally apologized in 2006 for its role in the home school system.
Francis didn’t give a date for his visit to Canada, but joked that it probably wouldn’t be in the winter. He said he took “joy” from the delegates’ devotion to St Anne and “hoped to be with them on their feast day.” It’s in July.
Amanda Coletta reported from Toronto.