Here’s Why Pope Francis Apologized For The ‘Evil’ Committed Against Canada’s Indigenous People

Topline

In a long-awaited move, Pope Francis asked for forgiveness from Canada’s Indigenous people on behalf of the Catholic Church Thursday during a trip to the site of a former residential school, part of a system that abused Indigenous children for more than a century.

Key Facts

Francis said he was “deeply sorry” how the church supported the “colonizing mentality” that oppressed Indigenous people in Canada, and the way the Catholic Church cooperated in “forced assimilation” like residential schools.

The pope made the comments during a stop in Maskwacis, Alberta, to a crowd of thousands of Indigenous people, who the New York Times reported applauded in response.

Francis also called for further investigations into the Canadian residential school system, adding that “begging pardon is not the end of the matter.”

Pope Francis previously apologized to representatives of the Indigenous community at the Vatican in April, and said he felt “sorrow and shame” about the church’s role in the abuses they suffered.

Crucial Quote

“I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” Francis said Monday in a powwow circle, adding that it is “necessary to remember how the policies of assimilation and enfranchisement, which also included the residential school system, were devastating for the people of these lands.”

Key Background

Beginning in around 1880 and lasting more than a century, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced into residential schools across Canada, where they were separated from their families and forced to assimilate to mainstream Canadian society, which the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation in 2015 described as “cultural genocide.” Physical and sexual abuse were also rampant at the institutions, the commission found. The Catholic Church operated roughly 70% of the schools in the system. According to the Canadian government there were about 139 such institutions operating with federal support, although others run exclusively by religious orders or provincial governments are not included in the total. More than 4,100 children died at the schools, most commonly because of disease or malnourishment, according to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation. However, some officials say the schools’ poor burial records indicate the death toll could be much higher. The last residential schools only closed in 1997. Last year, evidence of nearly 1,000 unmarked graves were uncovered at multiple former residential schools.

Further Reading

Pope Plans Canada Visit For Indigenous ‘Reconciliation’ Amid Reckoning Over School Abuse (Forbes)

“Canada Marks First ‘National Day For Truth And Reconciliation’ Honoring Indigenous Survivors Of Residential Schools” (Forbes)

“Catholic Bishops Apologize To Indigenous Canadians For Residential School Abuses” (Forbes)