TRENTON (Anadolu) – When Pope Francis touches down Sunday in Canada, he will seek to apply a soothing salve to the scarred hearts of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
The pope will apologize for the historical wrongs the Catholic Church inflicted on the Metis, Inuit and First Nations.
About 150,000 Indigenous children attended Indian Residential Schools beginning in the 1820s well into the second half of the 1900s. A significant number were pried from the arms of their families by decree of the Canadian government.
They were forced to attend one of 139 schools that were eventually established and administered by various churches, about 60% by the Catholic Church.
The goal was to stamp Indigenous culture out of the “savages” as stated by Sir John A. Macdonald, the country’s first prime minister, who said it in the mid-1800s.
But in too many cases, lives were stamped out – about 4,300 to as many as 6,000 died from disease, as well as mental, sexual and psychological abuse.
Some families never heard from their children again and were left to mourn their sons and daughters without knowing their fate. Thousands appear to be buried at the former schools in unmarked graves, the locations of which are now being searched across Canada.
It was a horrific period in Canadian history. Current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed that the practice was nothing less than genocide.
It was not until March 2022 that elders, leaders, survivors and families of the departed visited the Vatican and received a long-awaited face-to-face apology from Francis for the Church’s role in the appalling schools.
The apology, as said to the Indigenous delegation, was provided by a request from Anadolu Agency.
“I 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. All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said the pope.
“For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry,” he said.