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Pope Francis agreed to meet the indigenous survivors of Canada’s notorious boarding school in December. Ask the Pope to apologize For the role played by the Catholic Church in the abuse and death of thousands of children.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada (CCCB) stated that Francis has invited the delegation to the Vatican and will meet with three groups-Aboriginals, Metis and Inuit-and then preside over the last meeting with all three. .
The Vatican did not confirm the visit, but the Vatican’s internal news portal reported the bishop’s statement. The CCCB stated that the trip depends on the development of the pandemic and the delegation will include boarding school survivors, indigenous elders and youth, as well as indigenous leaders and Canadian bishops.
In recent weeks, investigators using ground penetrating radar have reported finding Hundreds of unmarked graves At the location of two boarding schools for indigenous children. These discoveries—more than 600 graves in one school and 215 bodies in the other—renewed the call to the pope, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Justin Trudeau).
From the 19th century to the 1970s, more than 150,000 Aboriginal children were forced to enter state-sponsored Christian boarding schools to integrate them into Canadian society. Thousands of children died of diseases and other causes, and many children never returned to their families.
Of the 130 boarding schools, nearly three-quarters are run by the Roman Catholic Missionary Church, and the other schools are run by the Presbyterian Church, the Anglican Church, and the United Church. Canada, Today is the largest Protestant sect in the country.
The government formally apologized for the policy and abuse of power in 2008. The Presbyterian Church, Anglican Church and United Church have apologized for their role in the abuse.
The CCCB did not mention asking the Pope to apologize in its statement, saying only that Francis was “very committed to directly listening to the opinions of the indigenous people.”
It said that he personally invited the Aboriginal delegation and will use these meetings to “express his sincere closeness, address the impact of colonization and the role of the church in the boarding school system, in order to respond to the suffering of the aborigines and the continued intergenerational trauma. influences.”
The Pope’s apology is one of the 94 recommendations of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but the CCCB stated in 2018 that the Pope cannot personally apologize for boarding schools.
Pope Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013, met with some former students and victims in 2009 and told them of his “personal suffering” for their suffering, but he did not apologize.
After 215 bodies were found last month, Francis expressed his pain and urged religious and political authorities to clarify “this sad matter”, but he also did not apologize.
However, he apologized for the crimes and crimes committed by the Catholic Church against the indigenous people during the colonial era. AmericaHe asked for forgiveness in the presence of indigenous groups during his visit to Bolivia in 2015, which suggests that similar face-to-face negligence may occur in December.
The bishops of Canada stated that they hope these conferences will “promote a peaceful and harmonious common future between the indigenous people of Canada and the Catholic Church.”
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