In his first event as part of the week-long “penitential pilgrimage” in Canada on Monday, Pope Francis admitted that he was “deeply sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonising mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous Peoples.” referring to the “cultural destruction and forced assimilation” implemented by the Roman Catholic churches between 1863 and 1997 in Canadian residential schools.
“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,” Francis told thousands of Indigenous people gathered at the Bear Park Powwow grounds in Maskwacis, part of the ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, and Nakota Sioux people. Keeping this in mind, he said, “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous Peoples.”
I ask forgiveness for the ways in which many members of the Church cooperated in those projects of cultural destruction and assimilation stipulated by the government, which culminated in the system of residential schools. #IndigenousPeoples #Canada
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 25, 2022
Speaking at the former site of one of the largest residential schools of Canada, Ermineskin Indian Residential School, the pontiff spoke about how it is “necessary” to remember the past traumas endured in residential schools “because forgetfulness leads to indifference and, as has been said the opposite of love is not hatred, it’s indifference and the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
Francis also recalled “how the policies of assimilation ended up systematically marginalising the Indigenous Peoples,” how their “languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed; how children suffered physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse; how they were taken away from their homes at a young age, and how that indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren.” He noted that the government policies of the time were “catastrophic” and asserted that the establishment of residential schools in itself was a “disastrous error.”
Later in the day at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, the Pope expressed his pain at Christians being responsible for the atrocities committed against the Indigenous peoples. “In the name of Jesus, may this never happen again in the church,” he hoped.
VIDEO: "I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples," Pope Francis said in Maskwacis, in Canada's western Alberta province https://t.co/QLcLxAN9sw pic.twitter.com/i3pBFDks16
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 25, 2022
Between 1863 and 1996, Canada’s state-sponsored residential school system forcibly separated around 150,000 Indigenous children from their families, as they were not permitted to practise their culture or speak their language in order to assimilate them into mainstream Canadian culture and identity. Children were often physically and sexually abused, malnourished, and lived in poor housing conditions that led to infectious diseases.
Ottawa has admitted that the legacy of that abuse and isolation from family is considered to be one of the root causes behind the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction on Canadian reservations.
Following a seven-year investigation, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2015 declared the residential school policy to be “cultural genocide.” It is estimated that 6,000 children were killed in these schools, though the true number could be much higher given the frequent discovery of new gravesites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
The Pope’s apology follows his comments in April expressing “sorrow and shame” for the “deplorable conduct” of a number of Catholics who engaged in hurling abuses and disrespecting the Indigenous peoples’ identity, culture, and spiritual values under the residential school system following meetings at the Vatican with delegations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
The damage done to Native communities because of residential & boarding schools is really incalculable. Generations of Indigenous have suffered far beyond those who were taken. The cultural genocide, the severe neglect & abuse introduced, the substance abuse used to cope…
— Ruth H. Robertson (Red Road Woman) (@Ruth_HHopkins) July 25, 2022
As part of the ceremony on Monday, Francis also returned a pair of moccasins to the retired chief of Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier, who had given it to him on a visit to the Vatican earlier this year as a symbol of the children who had never returned home from residential schools; asking him to return it when he was in Canada. Saying that the moccasins kept his “sense of sorrow, indignation, and shame” alive, Francis noted, “The memory of those children is indeed painful; it urges us to work to ensure that every child is treated with love, honour and respect. At the same time, those moccasins also speak to us of a path to follow, a journey that we desire to make together.”
He added, “We want to walk together, to pray together and to work together, so that the sufferings of the past can lead to a future of justice, healing and reconciliation.” Francis also pointed out that his apology is just the first step and that efforts must be made to ensure that such events can be prevented from happening again in the future. “An important part of this process will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past and to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered,” he remarked, adding that “concrete ways” can be found so that everyone can learn to “accept and respect the identity and the experience of the Indigenous Peoples.”
Following his heartfelt apology, former TRC Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild, who also attended a residential school for 14 years in Alberta, gave the Pope a traditional Indigenous war bonnet as a mark of him being an honorary chief. “The words you spoke to us in response clearly came from the depths of your heart, and were for those who heard them a source of deep comfort and great encouragement,” he remarked.
"An important part" of this healing process, Pope Francis says, "will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past and to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered."#PopeInCanada pic.twitter.com/RlYrwKjnCq
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 25, 2022
Furthermore, Chief Vernon Saddleback from Samson Cree Nation noted that he was grateful that despite so many dignitaries in attendance at the event, including Treaty 6 leaders, Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau, and Governor General Mary Simon, none were invited to speak. “Sometimes we need to sit back and we need to listen,” Saddleback remarked, adding, “For me today, with the Pope apologising, today was a day for everyone in the world to sit back and listen.”
Against this backdrop, Chief Desmond Bull of the Louis Bull Tribe opined that the Pope’s apology “will weigh heavily and open old wounds for survivors.” “We are here with you. And you are not alone,” he affirmed.
Canadian Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller noted that the apology was “the beginning and not the end” and that more work must be done, including getting documents from the Catholic Church.
In this regard, Evelyn Korkmaz, a residential school survivor from Fort Albany First Nation, said that she had “waited 50 years for this apology” but added that it had evoked mixed emotions. “There was no mention in his apology of releasing the documents that we desperately need across Canada. These documents hold our history… they belong here in Canada, they belong to us,” she stated.
Similarly, Treaty 6 Grand Chief George Arcand Jr asserted that “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” though he said he believes that Francis’ apology was “genuine.” “After meeting with Pope and hearing his words, I believe there is a path forward together,” he admitted.
Nevertheless, many residential school survivors say the visit was “long overdue” and wanted more than just an apology. In fact, some of the demands raised by the Indigenous communities include: gaining access to church archives to learn the fate of children who never returned home from the residential schools; financial reparations; justice for the perpetrators of abuse; the return of indigenous artefacts from the Vatican museums; the rescission of a 15th-century doctrine of “terra nullius” that justifies the enslavement of Indigenous people by Christian missionaries; and support for extraditing an accused abuser—Rev. Joannes Rivoire, who now lives in France.
This historic moment would not have been possible without the advocacy and perseverance of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Survivors. Today is about you, and about all of the children who were taken from their families and robbed of their childhoods.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 26, 2022
The Canadian government has repeatedly recognised the “systemic tragedies” faced by the Indigenous children and in December pledged $31 billion in compensation and long-term reform for aggrieved communities. Furthermore, in 2008, then-PM Stephen Harper issued a formal apology in recognition of the harm caused by the residential school system.
Additionally, PM Trudeau reiterated in a press statement that the government “remains committed to fully implementing the TRC’s Calls to Action,” of which Francis’ apology was Call to Action 58. “Reconciliation is the responsibility of all Canadians... It is our responsibility to see our differences not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to learn, to better understand one another, and to take action,” Trudeau underscored, adding, “No one must ever forget what happened at residential schools across Canada and we must all ensure it never happens again.”
Meanwhile, the Pope will also travel to Quebec and Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, later this week, accompanied by two Canadian cardinals—Marc Ouellet and Michael Czerny.