Pope’s apology incomplete, but it’s a start, say leaders

A week-long trip to Rome and the Vatican by Indigenous delegates has resulted in a qualified apology from the Pope regarding abuses in Catholic Church-run residential schools and a commitment from him to come to Canada “where I will be able better to express to you my closeness,” said the pontiff.

On April 1, Pope Francis delivered words that many Indigenous Catholics had waited decades to hear.

“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 my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.”

“It’s long overdue and it’s welcome for today as far as it goes,” said Marie Wilson, former commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) April 1.

For six years, the TRC listened to Indian residential school survivors and their families recount their experiences in those institutions and the residential school system’s intergenerational legacy.

In 2015, the TRC delivered its final report on their findings, with 94 calls to action. Call 58 called upon “the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools…to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.”

“It is long past time that the Church will begin to take responsibility for its role in the Residential School System,” read a statement from TRC Chair Murray Sinclair.

The third commissioner of the TRC, Chief Wilton Littlechild, was part of the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) delegation to the Vatican. The Pope’s apology came on Littlechild’s birthday.

“I wish we could go back in time to tell that six-year-old who attended a residential school in Alberta that one day he would be in the room hearing an apology directly from the Pope for all he has been through,” said Sinclair about Littlechild.

The TRC had called for the apology to happen within one year of issuing its final report. There were concerns, said Wilson, that a substantial delay would mean survivors would pass away without hearing that apology.

Wilson also pointed out that the other churches involved in operating residential schools in Canada—Anglican, Presbyterian and United—apologized well before the TRC was even established in 2008 through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA).

Wilson said although the apology is only “scratching the surface of what I would hope to hear,” it was “important how the people on the ground received that and how it touched them.”

“We acknowledge and respect that not all Survivors may accept (the Pope’s) apology. For those who do, we hope this helps them find peace as their healing journey continues,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum in a statement.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) also acknowledged in a statement that for some survivors, the apology was enough, but that other survivors are “angry” because the Pope did not apologize for the role the church played.

“I feel shame—sorrow and shame—for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,” he said.

In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the apology a “step forward.”

However, he said, “We cannot separate the legacy of the residential school system from the institutions that created, maintained, and operated it, including the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church.”

Grand Chief Joel Abrams of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) said while he was “very pleased” with the apology, he was also “a little put off that we had to actively seek this apology and to travel across the waters to get this addressed.”

Delegations from the Métis National Council (MNC) and Inuit met with the Pope in individual private audiences on March 28, while the AFN delegation had a two-hour private audience on March 31.

For the Métis, the trip “was an opportunity to share with the world the experiences of the Métis in residential schools, an often-neglected part of our Nation's history,” read a statement from the MNC.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered Canada’s official apology in 2008 for the role the federal government played in Indian residential schools, the Métis were left out. They were only compensated through the IRSSA if they attended an Indian residential school, but not a Métis-only residential school. However, when the TRC traveled across Canada speaking with survivors, the Métis were included.

MNC President Cassidy Caron, who was part of the audience with the Pope, said in a statement that the apology “opens a door for the Métis Nation to continue moving forward on our healing journey and it opens a door for us to continue to fight for action."

Achneepineskum lauded the delegates for their “tremendous courage … to share their experiences at Residential Schools with Pope Francis.”

“We want to thank and honour the many courageous delegates who made the journey to the Vatican in order to share their stories and experiences with the Residential School system,” said the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association in a statement. The Shingwauk residential school in Sault Ste. Marie was operated by the Anglican Church from 1935 to 1969.

“I hold my hands up to the survivors, leaders and staff that attended the meetings, and to those who have been working for years in holding the Catholic Church accountable,” said Terry Teegee, AFN British Columbia regional chief.

“This apology would not have happened without the Survivors who told their truths directly to one of the institutions responsible, and recounted and relived their painful memories,” said Trudeau.

Indigenous leaders across the country were unanimous in saying that the apology was only a start and had to be followed by actions.

Among those actions is an apology on Canadian soil.  

In a statement, NWT Regional Chief Gerald Antoine, who led the AFN delegation, said, “We leave Rome optimistic to receive an apology offered to all our nation of families when the Pope visits Turtle Island later this year.”

While Pope Francis committed to “meeting you when I visit your native lands, where your families live,” he did not explicitly commit to delivering a second or fuller apology.

“This apology (in Canada) also needs to go further—the Pope’s claim that only some church members were responsible for these crimes continues to sidestep the role the entire institution played in committing this horrific abuse,” said Teegee.

For the Canadian visit, the AIAI said the agenda needs to be set by residential school survivors and their families.

The MNC said it would be contacting the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to include the Métis Nation “in a meaningful way.”

The AFN in a statement called on the Pope to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery which “is the seed that gave birth to genocidal processes which the residential institutions is one of these genocidal processes of domination.”

Judith Sayers, president of NTC, said the church’s wealth “could certainly help …to provide needed services in counselling, cultural healing, activities, education, revival of our languages, to name a few.”

The AIAI is calling on the church to provide monetary compensation to families.

The BCAFN says the Catholic Church needs to meet its financial obligations as set out by the IRSSA, which includes a $29-million cash settlement and $25-million in-kind contributions.

The AIAI further stated that residential school records still held by the Vatican had to be turned over.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) says the Pope’s visit to Canada will occur in July. In his general audience address, Pope Francis said he wanted to celebrate St. Anne with the Indigenous people in Canada. The Feast of St. Anne is celebrated on July 26.

The national centre was created as part of the IRSSA. It houses the stories of survivors and is also tasked with educating Canadians on the schools.

“Today signals the start of meaningful steps by the Church to take responsibility for its egregious actions, the effects of which are still felt across communities and generations today,” said executive director Stephanie Scott in a statement.

Pope Francis will be meeting with one more Indigenous delegation this month. The Manitoba Métis Federation has a private audience scheduled with the Pope for April 21.

“It is our hope that this apology, combined with an exclusive meeting between Pope Francis and the Red River Métis, will help begin the healing process and unite us on the journey of reconciliation and revitalization,” said MMF president David Chartrand in a statement.

The MMF split from the MNC last September.

More than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their homes and forced to attend residential schools between the 1880s and 1996. The IRSSA recognizes 139 church-run government-funded Indian residential schools across the country. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by entities of the Catholic Church.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 children and youth went missing while attending these schools. The TRC dedicated an entire volume of its final report to missing children and unmarked burials. They were able to confirm 3,200 deaths with just under one-third of these children unnamed.

In his statement, Trudeau acknowledged the uncovering of unmarked graves at former residential school sites as “forc(ing) Canadians to reflect on our country's failures and their impacts that continue to be felt today. As a country, we must never forget the unthinkable tragedies that took place and we must honour the children who went missing and never came home.”

Local Journalism Initiative Reporters are supported by a financial contribution made by the Government of Canada.