Pope Expresses Sorrow for Residential School Abuse, Anglican Journal, April 29, 2009

Pope Expresses Sorrow for Residential School Abuse

Anglican Journal
April 29, 2009

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/pope-expresses-sorrow-for-residential-school-abuse/?cHash=93e6267f2a

Phil Fontaine, National Chief of Canada's Assembly of First Nations, attends Pope Benedict's weekly general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican April 29, 2009. A delegation led by Mr. Fontaine later met the Pope to discuss abuses inflicted on native children at church-run residential schools

Pope Benedict XVI met privately with a delegation of Canadian native people on Wednesday and expressed his sorrow for the suffering of native children in Canadian residential schools.

The delegation, which included Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, former students of residential schools and elders, came to the Vatican at the Pope’s invitation. The Canadian group also included Archbishop V. James Weisgerber, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and representatives from several Catholic dioceses and religious communities.

“Given the sufferings that some indigenous children experienced in the Canadian residential school system, the Holy Father expressed his sorrow at the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the church and he offered his sympathy and prayerful solidarity,” a statement from the Vatican said.

“His Holiness emphasized that acts of abuse cannot be tolerated in society. He prayed that all those affected would experience healing and encouraged First Nations Peoples to continue to move forward with renewed hope,” the statement said.

While not an official apology, CBC News reported that Mr. Fontaine, who was a student in a residential school and has spoken out about the abuse he suffered, said he hoped the Pope’s expression of regret would “close the book” on the issue of apologies for residential school survivors. “The fact that the word ‘apology’ was not used does not diminish this moment in any way,” he said. “This experience gives me great comfort.”

According to a statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the native representatives were all former students of residential schools: Peter Kelly, an elder; Edward John, grand chief of the Tl’azt’en Nation, British Columbia; Delia Opekokew, a Cree lawyer; and Kathleen Mahoney, a professor of law and negotiator of the Indian Residential Schools settlement.

According to Archbishop Weisgerber, the Pope expressed his compassion toward native people in Canada for the unfortunate events that occurred in the residential schools for over a century and assured them of the support of the entire Catholic church. “His face spoke even louder than his words,” said Archbishop Weisgerber. “He listened intently and one could see how saddened he was by these traumatic events of the past and their continued effects on the lives of the people today. The Holy Father expressed the prayer and hope that this event would help the aboriginal communities of Canada be internally freed from this historic tragedy and enabled to create a strong future.”

About 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children were taken from their communities over most of the last century and forced to attend state-funded but church-run boarding schools aimed at assimilating them. Many children suffered physical and sexual abuse while at the schools.