Catholic Pope apologizes to First Nations Peoples of Canada

Catholic Pope apologizes to First Nations Peoples of Canada

Wasuta Waste Win

NSNt Correspondent

VATICAN CITY, Rome — Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, made a historic apology internationally on April 1, 2022 to the First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples in Canada for the “deplorable” abuses suffered in Canada’s 139 residential schools, operated by the Catholic Church beginning in the 1880’s through 1998 that were attended by more than 150,000 Indigenous children.  Approximately 104 of those schools were under the control of the Catholic Church and Catholic educators.

Pope Francis hopes to deliver his apology to Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples in person. His visit is scheduled around the time of the Catholic Feast of St. Anna on July 26, 2022.  In biblical history, Anna struggled to have a child and prayed for one and was promised a daughter who is the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ.

The symbolic gesture is not lost, as St. Anna and her husband, as the historical grandparents of Christ, are considered the patron saints of grandparents throughout the Christian world.  It is often the grandparents, among Indigenous peoples, who become the primary caretakers of children impacted by inter-generational trauma.

Members of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples in Canada came to Rome and were given an hour to meet with Pope Francis on March 31, 2022, to ask for a papal apology.  Fifteen official delegates from these Indigenous nations came to seek a commitment from the Catholic Church to repair the damage caused by Canada’s residential school system.

The root cause of this damage, according to Indigenous leaders in Canada, was the physical and sexual abuse that was rampant in the residential schools run by the Catholic Church.  Today, this is reflected in the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction on Canadian reserves.

The goal of a Catholic education was assimilation through separation from their Indigenous languages and culture.  Residential schools forbid them to speak their languages and severed their connection to their families, communities, and nations.

Pope Francis said, “For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness of the Lord,” he continued, “And I want to tell you from my heart, that I am greatly pained.  And I unite myself with the Canadian bishops in apologizing.”

Pope Francis’ apology indicated shame for what the Catholic educators had done to harm Indigenous children.  He said, “It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instill a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail; unresolved traumas that have become inter-generational traumas.”

Inter-generational trauma that is still felt today continues to impact Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples.  Leaders of Canada’s Indigenous nations who were present when Pope Francis apologized, recognize how important it will be for the survivors and the families impacted directly by inter-generational trauma to be the ones who accept the Pope’s apology and are able to heal from it.

Canada’s residential school system was approved and funded by the Canadian government and as the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau acknowledged Pope Francis’ apology, Trudeau recognized the work ahead.

Trudeau said, “This apology would not have happened without the long advocacy of survivors who journeyed to tell their truths directly to the institution responsible and who recounted and relived their painful memories,” he added, “Today’s apology is a step forward in acknowledging the truth of our past in order to right historical wrongs, but there is still work to be done.”

 

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