This week, Pope Francis is traveling to Canada to make amends with Indigenous peoples for the Church’s role in abusive Catholic schools designed to eradicate Indigenous culture and assimilate Native children into Western society.
Unfortunately, this visit is long overdue. Local Indigenous leaders have been advocating for justice for years, and for good reason. These boarding schools often forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families and abused them sexually, physically, and mentally. These schools were created with the intent of completely destroying Indigenous culture and replacing it with beliefs of Western Society. This brutal education system has since been declared a “cultural genocide.”
This apology would bridge a significant gap between Native Americans and their oppressors, greatly progressing Canada’s reconciliation efforts.
Phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who 32 years ago was one of the first Indigenous leaders to publicly describe the abuse he suffered at Catholic-run residential schools, echoes the sentiment of many community leaders. In his words, “To make it all work, you have to be able to forgive,” he added. “And that means you have to make peace with the church.”
On the other hand, many younger members of the Indigenous communities feel critical about the Pope’s visit. Riley Yesno, an Eabametoong doctoral student at the University of Toronto, states, “I don’t see how any of these words that he’s going to say will actually fix the damage that the residential schools caused. I don’t know that it’ll bring healing for my grandparents (who went to catholic schools).”
Despite Indigenous leaders’ constant efforts, the Vatican has ignored the pleas for years until now. Fortunately, a group of Canada’s largest Indigenous groups traveled to the Vatican in March to call for a proper papal apology. At the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed his “sorrow and shame” for the Church’s hand in causing so much suffering for Indigenous peoples.
Phil Fontaine traveled to the Vatican in March to press for an apology to Indigenous peoples.
The Pope’s focus this week is to finally bring “healing and reconciliation” to restore relationships in Canada. If all goes well, hopefully, Indigenous communities and Western society can coexist together with respect, love, and kindness.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/canada/pope-francis-apology-canada-indigenous.html
Unfortunately, this visit is long overdue. Local Indigenous leaders have been advocating for justice for years, and for good reason. These boarding schools often forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families and abused them sexually, physically, and mentally. These schools were created with the intent of completely destroying Indigenous culture and replacing it with beliefs of Western Society. This brutal education system has since been declared a “cultural genocide.”
This apology would bridge a significant gap between Native Americans and their oppressors, greatly progressing Canada’s reconciliation efforts.
Phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who 32 years ago was one of the first Indigenous leaders to publicly describe the abuse he suffered at Catholic-run residential schools, echoes the sentiment of many community leaders. In his words, “To make it all work, you have to be able to forgive,” he added. “And that means you have to make peace with the church.”
On the other hand, many younger members of the Indigenous communities feel critical about the Pope’s visit. Riley Yesno, an Eabametoong doctoral student at the University of Toronto, states, “I don’t see how any of these words that he’s going to say will actually fix the damage that the residential schools caused. I don’t know that it’ll bring healing for my grandparents (who went to catholic schools).”
Despite Indigenous leaders’ constant efforts, the Vatican has ignored the pleas for years until now. Fortunately, a group of Canada’s largest Indigenous groups traveled to the Vatican in March to call for a proper papal apology. At the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed his “sorrow and shame” for the Church’s hand in causing so much suffering for Indigenous peoples.
Phil Fontaine traveled to the Vatican in March to press for an apology to Indigenous peoples.
The Pope’s focus this week is to finally bring “healing and reconciliation” to restore relationships in Canada. If all goes well, hopefully, Indigenous communities and Western society can coexist together with respect, love, and kindness.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/canada/pope-francis-apology-canada-indigenous.html
