Pope Francis welcomes Inuit, Métis and First Nations delegations to Vatican after Catholic ‘residential schools’ scandal and announces foreign trip in July: ‘It’s frightening to make someone lose their roots’
VATICAN CITY “Outrage,” “Pain,” and “Shame.” The moment is solemn, awaited for many years: “For the deplorable behavior of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask God’s forgiveness, I join the Canadian Bishops’ Brothers in asking your forgiveness”. Pope Francis addresses representatives of Canada’s Indigenous people, Inuit, Métis and First Nations in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. During that week he spoke at length with each delegation, one day at a time, listening in particular to their stories. For years, Canada’s indigenous peoples and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself had asked the pope for a formal apology for the scandal surrounding Canada’s “residential schools,” the governmentrun and largely Catholicchurchmanaged network of colleges from the late 19th century through in the 1970s to forcibly assimilate the children of the native population: we reckon with 150,000 children who were snatched from their parents between 1863 and 1998 and snatched from their homeland, language and culture. Last year, at the Angelus in June on February 6, he had expressed his “pain” and asked to “shed some light” on the “shocking discovery of the remains of 215 children at Kamloops Indian Residential School in the province of British.” Columbia, which renewed general outrage. And now Francis comes to announce a trip overseas, “not in winter and maybe in July, “to the homelands of the indigenous peoples: “See you in Canada, where I can better express my closeness to you . It fills me with joy to think of the devotion that many of you have towards St. Anna, the grandmother of Jesus, spread. This year I want to be with you in those days, that is, around the feast of St. Anna which is celebrated on July 26 ».
The local representatives themselves speak of “historic and necessary words: We await you in Canada, where you can renew your apologies to the survivors and their families”. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented: “We can’t wait for the Pope to come to Canada to make his personal apology. Today’s apologies are a step forward in acknowledging our past and the historical mistakes made, but there is still work to be done ». Pope Francis first addressed the general problem of colonization in his speech: “The chain that has passed on knowledge and lifestyles linked to the territory has been broken by colonization, which has disrespectfully torn many of you from the vital environment and attempted to to adapt to a different mentality. So your identity and your culture have been violated, many families separated, many young people have been victims of this homologation action, supported by the idea that progress is made through ideological colonization, according to programs studied at the table, instead of respecting the lives of peoples ” . All this “is still happening today at different levels: ideological colonizations,” the Pope denounces: “Like many political, ideological and economic colonizations, there are still in the world, driven by greed, profitgreed, regardless of the population, their Stories and their traditions and from the common house of creation. Unfortunately, this colonial mentality is still widespread. Let’s help each other to overcome it ». From here he went on to the stories heard by indigenous people: “Through their voices I was able to touch with great sadness in my heart the stories of suffering, deprivation, discriminatory treatment and various forms of abuse endured by them and wear me differently than you, especially in boarding schools. It is terrifying to think of the desire to instill a sense of inferiority, to make someone lose their cultural identity, to sever their roots, with all the personal and social consequences this has brought and continues to bring : unresolved traumas that have become traumas intergenerational “. Thus expressed the Pope: “All this aroused in me two feelings: indignation and shame. Outrage because it is unfair to accept evil and it is even worse to face to get used to evil as if it were an inevitable dynamic caused by the events of history. No, without a firm indignation, without a memory and without an obligation to learn from mistakes, the problems are not solved and return. We see it these days about the war. The memory of the past must never be sacrificed on the altar of supposed progress. And I’m ashamed too, I h Bute told you and I repeat it: I feel shame, pain and shame for the role that several Catholics, especially those with educational responsibilities, have played in all that has hurt you, in abuse and disrespect for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values. Important Words: “All of this contradicts the gospel of Jesus,” he spelled out. “I ask God’s forgiveness for the deplorable behavior of these members of the Catholic Church and I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart: I am very sad. And I join the Canadian Bishops in apologizing to you. It is evident that the contents of faith cannot be conveyed in a manner alien to faith itself: Jesus taught us to accept, love, serve and not judge; it is terrible when, precisely in the name of faith, a counterwitness to the Gospel is made ».
April 1, 2022 (change April 1, 2022 | 19:11)
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