Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, apologized April 1 to Indigenous representatives from Canada for Catholics' role in the country’s residential school system, which forcibly removed Indigenous children from their homes.
The apology came after the pope met with representative of First Nations from Canada March 31, having held an audience earlier in the week with delegates appearing on behalf of Inuit and Métis people in Canada.
“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 of my heart: I am very sorry,” Francis was reported to have said by Vatican News. “And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.
“It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instil a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas.”
The pope also said that he would pay a visit to Canada to reiterate the church’s apology,. No date for the visit has been set, though Francis said it would not be during winter.
The legacy of Canada’s residential school system, which was run by the federal government in partnership with churches and had the express goal of “killing the Indian in the child,” was brought back into focus by the discovery last spring of unmarked graves outside a former residential school in Kamloops and at other residential school sites after that.
Manitoba Indigenous leaders welcomed the papal apology as a first step on the road toward healing and reconciliation.
“An apology from the pope in response to the role the Catholic Church had in the residential school system has been a day that many survivors have been waiting for,” said Garrison Settee, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 Northern Manitoba First Nations. “This is a historical, overwhelming, and even surprising event. Our hearts are with the delegates who travelled to Rome to make presentations on behalf of First Nations citizens in Manitoba. We thank you for carrying out this difficult work and our prayers are with you. Receiving an apology from Pope Francis is nothing short of miraculous. This apology opens the door for many people to truly begin the process of real healing.”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs acting Grand Chief Eric Redhead said the pope apologizing was historic moment marked by sorrow and hope.
“More than 150,000 children were stolen from their homes and forced to attend residential schools between the 1880s and 1996: a number still raw to hear in the midst of this apology and the thousands of unmarked graves being discovered. I note the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action included a papal apology. This is but one call to action moving First Nations forward and I encourage everyone to continue to heed those calls. I further applaud the delegation that attended Rome to ensure this apology was given. I especially applaud the delegation from Manitoba and the strength, courage and leadership they brought on behalf of First Nations.”
The AMC represents 62 First Nations in Manitoba.
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson and Alan Lagimodiere, the province’s Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations minister, also commented on the apology.
“The apology from Pope Francis acknowledges the tragedies of the past,” they said in an emailed statement. “However, so much more work needs to be done. It is imperative that as a country we listen, learn and support the healing needed to address the intergenerational trauma caused by the residential school system.
“Our government is committed to working collaboratively with residential school survivors, families, Indigenous leadership and communities, elders and knowledge keepers to support the very important and necessary process of truth-telling and healing that will collectively help us move toward reconciling these historical wrongs and ensuring this never happens again.”
