Historic mea culpa awaited
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Pope visits Canada to apologize to indigenous people
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Pope Francis is greeted by representatives of Indigenous Canadians. The head of the Catholic Church embarked on a six-day trip to Canada on Sunday.
Photo: dpa/Johannes Neudecker
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Edmonton The Pope wants to ask the indigenous people in Canada to apologize for the suffering that happened to children in church-run boarding schools. But many survivors don’t just want to hear warm words.
Pope Francis is expected to apologize to the indigenous population in Canada this Monday for abuse and violence in Catholic Church institutions. He was met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general, Mary May Simon, upon arrival at Edmonton Airport in Alberta on Sunday. On the flight, the pontiff spoke to journalists about a “penitential journey”.
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Around 150,000 indigenous children had to attend state-financed Christian schools between the 19th century and the 1970s. In the process, they were separated from their families and their indigenous culture. The aim of the institutions was to integrate the children into Christian society. Canada’s government has acknowledged physical and sexual abuse in schools. In 2008, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized. The government paid billions in compensation, which was remitted to indigenous communities.
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The Pope did not keep any official appointments on Sunday. This was apparently to allow him some rest before meeting survivors of abuse by missionaries near a former boarding school in Maskwacis on Monday.
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“Right now, many of our people are skeptical and they are hurt,” said George Arcand Jr., chair of the Treaty Six First Nations group, who served on the Pope’s welcoming committee. The anticipated apology “validates our experiences and creates an opportunity for the church to repair relations with tribal peoples worldwide.” But “it doesn’t stop there – there’s a lot to do. It’s a start.”
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Indigenous groups want more than just words. They insist on access to church archives to learn more about the fate of children who never returned home from church schools. And they demand that those responsible for violence and abuse be held accountable; financial compensation and the return of indigenous artifacts kept in Vatican museums.
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RoseAnne Archibald, one of Canada’s best known Indigenous leaders, said a number of members of her family attended boarding schools. Among them is a sister who died in an Ontario facility. It is an “institution of assimilation and genocide,” said Archibald.
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A Canadian commission had already called for a papal mea culpa on Canadian soil in 2015. After the remains of around 200 children were found on the property of a former school in the Canadian province of British Columbia last year, the Vatican took steps to implement the apology.
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During his week-long trip to Canada, the Pope will also visit Québec and Iqaluit in the north of the country. Organizers of events with the Pope have said they want to help survivors from the former schools attend. Many of those affected are now older and fragile and may need special attention.
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