Pope Francis issues long-awaited apology for church’s role in residential schools

The apology thousands of Indigenous people in Canada have been waiting for was delivered Monday.

During a ceremony at the site of a former residential school in Maskwacis, Alta., Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic church’s role in residential schools in Canada.

“I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you,” the Pope said to begin his speech.

He said the memories of the children who never returned from residential schools has left him with a sense of “sorrow, indignation and shame.”

Speaking through an interpreter, Francis said it was important to remember the devastating policies of assimilation which marginalized Indigenous people and robbed them of their language and culture.

“I ask forgiveness in particular for the ways in which many members of the church and of religious communities co-operated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time which culminated in the system of residential schools,” he said.

That was greeted with applause by those in the crowd.

Noting that those actions were “incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the pope again offered an apology.

“In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children,” Francis said. “I myself wish to reaffirm this with shame and unambiguously. I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.”

The Pope added that begging for forgiveness wasn’t the end of the matter, but rather was a starting point. As a result, he said an investigation would be conducted into what happened in residential schools and to help survivors heal.

As he greeted people after his speech, a traditional Indigenous headdress was placed on Pope Francis’ head, prompting him to smile broadly.

Pope Francis prays at a gravesite at the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery in Maskwacis, Alta., during his papal visit across Canada on Monday, July 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

After he arrived in Maskwacis and before speaking, Pope Francis was pushed in his wheelchair to a graveyard that’s believed to contain the remains of some residential school students.

The pontiff held his face and put his hand on his chest as he visited the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection.

After Pope Francis arrived on the stage from which he was to deliver his speech, a large banner with the names of children who died in residential schools was carried around the grounds.

Singing and drumming welcomed the pontiff to the stage as hundreds waited for the ceremony to begin.

Indigenous people gather to see Pope Francis on his visit to Maskwacis, Alta. during his papal visit across Canada on Monday, July 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Andrew Carrier, a Metis day school survivor from Manitoba, said before the ceremony began that his emotions were “the highest they’ve ever been” as he waited with others to hear the Pope speak.

“Myself as one of the survivors of abuse by a Catholic priest, it’s really important for reconciliation to understand that the Pope is offering his apology,” Carrier said.

Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, said before the speech that the Vatican must release all documents related to residential schools and commit to keeping children safe around the world.

“The most important day of an apology is the day after and the year after,” Blackstock said in a video statement, “and we all need to be looking at what the Pope does then.”

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1-866-925-4419 and is there to help people who may need support during this time.

— With files from The Canadian Press