Pope Francis has apologized for decades of abuse of indigenous children in Catholic boarding schools in Canada. “I ask God’s forgiveness for the pathetic behavior of these members of the Catholic Church”.
He “apologies to you, along with my Canadian bishop brothers,” the head of the Catholic Church said on Friday at a meeting with representatives of various indigenous groups in Rome.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of a “step forward”. It was with great sadness that he heard the reports of “suffering, disenfranchisement, discriminatory treatment and various forms of abuse” that his interlocutors had experienced, especially in the boarding schools, the Pope said. He feels “shame” and “pain”.
The Pope also condemned the “ideological colonization” and “alignment measures” to which “so many children fell victim”. “Your identity and your culture have been violated, many families have been separated,” the pontiff lamented.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said the Pope’s apology was “a step forward in acknowledging the truth of our past.” But there is still a lot to be done to make up for “historical injustice”.
He hopes the pope will personally deliver his apology when he visits Canada. Francis had previously announced that he would travel to Canada at the end of July.
Blame for generations of problems?
In Canada, by 1874, around 150,000 children of Aboriginal and mixed couples had been separated from their families and culture and placed in church homes in order to force them to assimilate into the white majority society. Many of them were mistreated in the homes or sexually abused. At least 3,200 of these children are believed to have died, most of them from tuberculosis, neglect or malnutrition.
The discovery of hundreds of anonymous graves in recent months has shaken Canada. Many survivors demanded a clear sign from Pope Francis. Canada’s Catholic Church issued an official apology to Indigenous People in September.
Many Indigenous communities blame the homes, which have shaped entire generations, for today’s social problems such as alcoholism, domestic violence and increased suicide rates among Indigenous people. Nevertheless, the numerous reports of abuse and high death rates in the so-called residential schools were never seriously investigated. The last of these schools only closed in the 1990s. (AFP)