Pope Francis has again apologized for the Catholic Church’s involvement in Canada’s residential school system.
He did so this time in Canada and before hundreds of residential school survivors from across the country gathered at Maskwacis, north of Edmonton.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Pope told them he was deeply sorry.
“Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.”
The Pope issued an apology in March after meeting with an Indigenous delegation that travelled to the Vatican in March.
Monday, he received loud cheers following the apology and when he asked for forgiveness.
The Holy See told the gathering there were many instances of devotion and care for children, but the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic.
“What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded, and that you have continued to pay the price of this. In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children.”
But he acknowledged his words were only a first step.
“I also recognize that, looking to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient and that, looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening.”
The Pope said that includes an investigation into the facts of what happened at its schools and assisting survivors with their healing process.
The Pope was asked to visit former residential school sites across Canada, including Kamloops where unmarked gravesites had been discovered in May 2021.
He said he had to forgo those invitations because of the little time he had in Canada.
