WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
Pope Francis has apologized for members of the Catholic Church who cooperated with Canada’s “devastating” policy of indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation of indigenous peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, it separated their families and marginalized generations in a way that is still felt. today.
“I humbly ask forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against indigenous peoples,” Francis told thousands of indigenous people, including many survivors, who gathered in Maskwacis, Alta., on Monday.
“Here from this place, associated with painful memories, I would like to begin what I consider a pilgrimage. A penitential pilgrimage,” he said, speaking from the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, one of the largest in the canada
Amid applause from the congregation, the Pope repeatedly asked for forgiveness for the actions of the past, supported by many members of the Church, which created the “disastrous error” and “deplorable evil” of the residential centers.
She said the memories of the children who never returned from the residential centers have left her with a sense of “pain, outrage and shame”.
Assimilation policies marginalized indigenous people, robbed them of their language and culture, and indelibly affected the relationships between parents and their children and grandparents and their grandchildren, he said.
The Pope “deeply deplores” the “colonizing mentality” of many Christians
During his visit to Maskwacis, Alta., Pope Francis apologized to residential school survivors for the way members of the Catholic Church cooperated in the cultural destruction of indigenous life.
The Pope spoke in Spanish, his first language, and was translated into English by a priest. Translations were also available in several indigenous languages.
Francis’ words on Monday went beyond his previous apology for the “deplorable” acts of the missionaries and instead took responsibility for the church’s institutional cooperation with the “catastrophic” assimilation policy, which the Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said it amounted to “cultural genocide”. .”
He said his apology is only the first step in making amends to Canada’s indigenous people and that a serious investigation must be conducted into the facts of what happened in the past.
After the Pope’s long-awaited apology, Chief Wilton Littlechild, a former TRC commissioner, presented the pontiff with a traditional indigenous headdress. A smile irradiated the pontiff’s face as he put it on his head.
Earlier, Littlechild said he hoped the pope’s visit would reflect true healing and hope for Canada’s Indigenous people.
After issuing a long-awaited apology Monday for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system, Chief Wilton Littlechild presented Pope Francis with a traditional headdress in Maskwacis, Alta. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
The Pope delivered his remarks to busloads of school survivors, indigenous elders and family members at a ceremony space near the site of the former residential school, now largely demolished.
Five teepees were installed at the site of the Pope’s visit: four representing the nations of the country and the fifth as a symbol of the entrance to the old school.
As part of the ceremony, Francis returned a pair of moccasins to Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier, a retired chief of the Okanesa First Nation in Saskatchewan.
He had given the children’s moccasins to the Pope when an indigenous delegation visited Rome earlier this year. They were meant to represent children who never came home from residential centers and she had told the pontiff that she hoped he would return them when he came to beg for forgiveness on Canadian soil.
Upon arriving in the small Alberta prairie community, Francis visited the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection. Organizers say there are likely remains of residential center students among the graves.
They also burned sacred fires in communities across the country in solidarity, organizers said.
‘A gift for many’
In a press conference after the Pope’s 90-minute visit, indigenous chiefs from the four nations that make up Maskwacis spoke about what the apology means to their people and their gratitude to the world for bearing witness to the historic moment.
“Pope Francis has shown grace,” said Grand Chief George Arcand Jr. of the Alexander First Nation. “I appreciate you taking our request to deliver this apology in person. It’s a gift to many.”
Chief Vernon Saddleback of the Samson Cree Nation noted that he was grateful that the many dignitaries attending the event, from Treaty 6 leaders to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon, were not invited to speak.
“Sometimes we have to sit back and listen,” Saddleback said. “Today for me, with the Pope apologizing, today was a day for everyone in the world to sit up and listen.”
All the leaders spoke of the “survivors and the prosperous” living in their communities, as well as the pain that the papal apology will evoke in many.
“I anticipate that this apology will weigh heavily and open old wounds for the survivors,” said Chief Desmond Bull of the Louis Bull Tribe.
“We are here with you. And you are not alone.”
First of several public events
The Pope’s second public event on Monday was a visit to the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton.
Dozens of people gathered outside the parish, many visibly moved when the Pope’s motorcade arrived at 4.45pm. The church in the center is described as one of the busiest parishes in the archdiocese.
The pontiff entered the building and Francis took a chair placed at the front of the church under wooden poles of the teepee.
Organizers plan to present the Pope with an eagle feather, a star quilt and recreations of artwork lost in a church fire two years ago.
The Pope committed to the Canadian tour on April 1, after meeting for several days with First Nations, Inuit and Métis groups at the Vatican. Francis then apologized for the deplorable behavior of some church members involved in residential schools and promised to visit Canada.
On Tuesday, the Pope will celebrate a large outdoor Mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and take part in a pilgrimage to nearby Lac Ste. Anne, before traveling to Quebec and Iqaluit.
Pope Francis attends a silent prayer at the cemetery Monday during his meeting with First Nations, Metis and Inuit indigenous communities in Maskwacis, Alta. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada, where neglect and physical and sexual abuse were widespread. More than 60% of the schools were run by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope told reporters before his plane landed in Edmonton that the visit must be handled carefully.
“I hope, with the grace of God, that my penitential pilgrimage can contribute to the path of reconciliation already begun. Please join me in prayer,” said a message on the Pope’s Twitter account.
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience in residential care or recent reports.
A National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line has been set up to support alumni and those affected. People can access crisis and emotional referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counseling and crisis assistance are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by chat at line a www.hopeforwellness.ca.