Pope Francis' apology residential schools

2022 - 4 - 1

pope apology

Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous delegates for 'deplorable ... (CBC.ca)

Pope Francis has apologized for the conduct of some members of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system, following a week of talks ...

On a trip to Ireland in 2018, he offered a sweeping apology for the crimes of the Catholic Church in Ireland, saying church officials frequently failed to respond with compassion to the many abuses children and women suffered over the years. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. He travelled to Bolivia in 2015, where he asked for forgiveness for the church's crimes against Indigenous people during Latin America's colonial era. "We have a heartfelt expression from the church that was delivered by Pope Francis in an empathetic and caring way." The commission also urged all religious and faith groups to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and people. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon."

Statement by the Prime Minister on the apology from His Holiness ... (Prime Minister of Canada)

I acknowledge His Holiness Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous Peoples for the Roman Catholic Church's role in operating the residential school system in ...

The Government of Canada is fully committed to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. “Last year, the findings of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools across the country forced Canadians to reflect on our country’s failures and their impacts that continue to be felt today. “Today’s apology is a step forward in acknowledging the truth of our past.

Saskatchewan residential school survivors react to Pope Francis's ... (Globalnews.ca)

Bevann Fox was seven years old when she first attended residential school in Lebret, Sask. Hearing the Pope's apology made her revisit painful memories ...

When the Pope comes to Canada this summer, to visit our territories, all Survivors can finally hear this apology for themselves.” “Will I accept the apology when he comes to Canada? The answer is no. “I was shocked and it confused me,” said Kennedy. “I’m lost for words.… “All this made me feel two things very strongly: indignation and shame,” the Pope said. But the morning of April 1, Fox turned to her Twitter account and read the news of Pope Francis apologizing. That night, I was sent to see the priest.

Read the full text of the Pope's apology for Canada's residential ... (CTV News)

In a speech delivered on Friday, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential school system, after Indigenous delegates ...

I also feel shame - sorrow and shame - for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values. I wish to tell you that the Church stands beside you and wants to continue journeying with you. Listening to your voices, I was able to enter into and be deeply grieved by the stories of the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse that some of you experienced, particularly in the residential schools. The chain that passed on knowledge and ways of life in union with the land was broken by a colonization that lacked respect for you, tore many of you from your vital milieu and tried to conform you to another mentality. These steps are part of a journey that can favour the rediscovery and revitalization of your culture, while helping the Church to grow in love, respect and specific attention to your authentic traditions. They are essential questions raised by our conscience, lest we ever forget that we are here on this earth as guardians of the sacredness of life, and thus guardians of our brothers and sisters, and of all brother peoples. Yet that tree, rich in fruit, has experienced a tragedy that you described to me in these past days: the tragedy of being uprooted. These represent a patrimony that belongs not only to you, but to all humanity, for they are expressions of our common humanity. I have brought them to my thoughts and prayers, and reflected on the stories you told and the situations you described. For you, the land preserves the memory of your ancestors who rest there; it is a vital setting making it possible to see each individual's life as part of a greater web of relationships, with the Creator, with the human community, with all living species and with the earth, our common home. You compared yourselves to the branches of a tree. Over the past few days, I have listened attentively to your testimonies.

'I want justice.' Residential school survivors and descendants react ... (Toronto Star)

Pope Francis stood before a room of nearly 200 Indigenous delegates on Friday in the Sala Clementina, one of the halls of the Apostolic Palace, and asked ...

The government is the one that put up the funds for the religious sectors to run the schools, to get the “Indian out of the children,” to take away who we were, our languages and our families. I feel the same as I felt then — it’s one thing to apologize, but it’s another to put your apology into action. Being through the foster system, Ballantyne’s own children are the first in five generations that aren’t in residential school. There was no mention of the burial sites and unmarked graves. “Most of them didn’t get to sober up or heal,” she said, which led to health complications and in some cases, suicide. They might have good intentions, but I think they only apologized because of all of the publicity about the missing babies and the bodies of the children found at the sites of former residential schools. “The world will listen, the world hears it now. Most of my work as Chief is to address the long shadow of residential schools,” said Blaney. They were placing blame on officials that ran the Catholic Church. The church ran residential schools at that time, and they were asking for God’s forgiveness for them. “When you don’t get the trauma out, sometimes it just goes and attacks our bodies.” “And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.” “I see the apology as a small step in moving forward.

Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous delegation for residential ... (The Globe and Mail)

Francis made the apology and vowed to visit Canada during an audience with hundreds of members of the Métis, Inuit and First Nations communities.

He later negotiated the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, but failed to get an apology in a 2009 visit with Pope Benedict. The sala, an enormous hall decorated with religious frescos, was built in the 16th century and is used by popes for meetings of absolute holy and administrative importance. And I am proud to stand here with my brothers today.” More than 4,000 children died, according to the TRC, in what it has said amounts to cultural genocide. This is the first time that a pope has issued a formal public apology to Indigenous people in Canada over the harms inflicted at residential schools. He hinted he may time his visit for the feast of St. Anne on July 26. “Pope Francis reflected upon the entirety of our message that we have brought forward,” he said. Not everyone was happy with the wording of Francis’s statement. Many of the delegates shed tears on Friday as he responded to their stories with heartfelt remarks. But there were few signs one would come until the discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops last May ignited public outcry and renewed scrutiny of the Catholic Church’s role in the government-funded schools. “And it certainly doesn’t end here, either.” The gathering was also livestreamed.