Calls for Pope to apologize for residential schools persist amid his planned trip to Canada

Editor’s note: This article contains some disturbing details about experiences at residential schools in Canada and may be upsetting to some readers. For those in need of emotional support, the 24-hour Residential Schools Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419.

Pope Francis making a pledge to come to Canada as part of the process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples doesn’t come as a big surprise to an advocate for residential school survivors.

Angela White with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRRSS) in B.C. says she expected the Pope to concede and come to Canada at some point.

“The world was watching and putting a lot of pressure on the church to make reparations, whatever that may look like. I think in the back of my heart and my mind, I always knew it was coming. So, I didn’t really get a knee-jerking reaction. I was like, ‘Huh. It’s finally happening.'”

A date for the Pope’s visit has yet to be determined, but it follows the documentation of unmarked graves at residential schools across the country.

Indigenous leaders have been calling for the Pope to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system. White says given the long-standing calls for an apology, many of her clients, such as survivors of residential schools, many have been responding with anger.

“I think the anger is one, ‘Why now, after so many years have passed, that they’re going to try and do an apology? Two, the ones that wanted a true apology and actually made their first trip to the Vatican … they’re no longer with us. So, the ones that really did want it are no longer here to witness it.

“And the ones that are here are beyond words, are beyond the apologies, are beyond saying, ‘Enough sprinkling on the right words to make things feel better. Until you actually prove there are actionable items to what reconciliation can mean, don’t bother coming.'”

Related article: Pope Francis agrees to Canada trip to help reconciliation with Indigenous peoples

White acknowledges the Pope committing to a trip to Canada as “a first step.”

“But when you look at the word ‘reconciliation,’ it takes two parties to begin that healing process … It’s been very one-sided,” she said, adding many survivors and inter-generational survivors want to see what will happen to work towards true reconciliation.

“Why don’t they put real dollars, real effort to try to fix what they definitely took away from us?” she asked, proposing programs to help preserve Indigenous languages that are nearing extinction.

“Put the money and the resources to create things where we can actually learn, as an inter-generational survivor, the language that they deliberately took away.”

White also suggests trauma healing centres to help residential schools survivors, youth healing centres to help inter-generational survivors understand the things that have shaped their lives, mental health and wellness centres that are “interwoven with culture”, and funding organizations like the IRRSS that support survivors.

She says many urban people don’t have a strong connection to culture.

“Either they were forced out of their community because of the bad situations within, or needed to get away from all the negativity and normalized violence and alcoholism that is perpetually encrusted in the trauma.”

The Vatican said in a brief statement on Wednesday that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has invited the pope to make an apostolic journey to Canada “also in the context of the long-standing pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”

The CCCB released a statement saying that are grateful that Francis accepted the invitation of “a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.”

“The Bishops of Canada have been engaged in meaningful discussions with Indigenous Peoples, especially those affected by Residential Schools who have shared stories about the suffering and challenges that they continue to experience,” said CCCB President, the Most Rev. Raymond Poisson.

“We pray that Pope Francis’ visit to Canada will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing.”

Related article: Catholic Bishops of Canada apologize to Indigenous Peoples for role in residential schools

For her part, White says the IRRSS would be open to a discussion with the Pope or the CCCB.

“Our mandate is to ensure that we hear all sides and go forward with a place of healing. If we can’t do that, then we’re not following our own guidelines and our own teachings and our own customs. We always invite people to the table to have open discussions. Even if we walk away not agreeing on anything, we still have that ability to share and break bread. That’s where we come from, from a cultural perspective, and I think that’s important to do.”

The Pope had already agreed to meet with First Nations, Metis and Inuit leaders at the Vatican in December. The CCCB says the meeting will still go forward from Dec. 17 to 20.

Last month, the CCCB acknowledged and apologized for grave abuses committed by members of the Catholic community. The CCCB says it is “fully committed” to healing and reconciliation, pledging to fundraise across Canada to support that.

The apology came on the heels of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanding the Vatican apologize and the Catholic Church release its documents on residential schools.

Related articles:

• B.C. residential school survivor calls for acknowledgment as Truth and Reconciliation Day approaches

• Have Indigenous issues taken a backseat during this federal election campaign?

• B.C. First Nations launch investigation at former St. Paul’s residential school

The CCCB faced backlash in June for saying that the Catholic Church was not associated with residential schools.

More than 1,000 unmarked graves have been found at the sites of several former residential schools across Canada.

In May, the remains of 215 children were documented at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The following month, the Cowessess First Nation confirmed 751 unmarked graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Saskatchewan.

– With files from Ria Renouf