Stephen Harper Must Invite Pope to Apologize for Aboriginal Abuse: Tim Harper
By Tim Harper
Stephen Harper can only have one item at the top of his agenda when he visits the Vatican next week. The prime minister must formally invite Pope Francis to travel to Canada to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in this country’s shameful residential schools era. It is a demand of the commission and it has the backing of church leaders in this country. Harper’s position — that he will wait for the final report of the commission later this year before reacting — looks like a bid to move this off his plate until after a federal election. But there is no need to wait on this request. The Roman Catholic church has often appeared to be, first and foremost, consumed with protecting the Roman Catholic church and initially church leaders here seemed headed along that same path when Justice Murray Sinclair called for an apology from Pope Francis, on Canadian soil, within a year. They equivocated, explaining it was up to the church in Canada, not the Pope, to deal with this, that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission didn’t understand the decentralized nature of the church or the autonomous nature of the bishops, that the demand was “bold” and putting a deadline on such a gesture made it that much more difficult. But in a later conversation, Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, who chairs the committee of Catholic entities that ran residential schools, was much more conciliatory. It would be “very appropriate” for Harper to issue the invitation Pettipas, archbishop of Grouard-McLennan in Grand Prairie, Alta., told me. A papal visit requires a government invitation. “It would be totally in place for Stephen Harper to invite the Holy Father to come to Canada and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that would happen,” he said. “It would be the right thing to do.” High-ranking Catholic officials in Canada have apologized to residential school survivors as far back as 1991 and have repeated regrets at various levels over the years. But a series of statements by high-ranking officials have left a “patchwork” of apologies or statements of regret that few survivors or church members may know exist, said Sinclair in his report. “Roman Catholics in Canada and across the globe look to the Pope as their spiritual and moral leader,” he writes. “Therefore it has been disappointing to survivors that the Pope has not yet made a clear and emphatic public apology in Canada for the abuses perpetrated in Catholic-run residential schools across this country.” The United, Anglican and Presbyterian churches have apologized through moderators or primates who spoke for the highest level of the church. The Papal apology was not raised during a meeting between Sinclair and Harper Tuesday, but only because Sinclair was unaware of Harper’s travel plans. Harper’s office will not discuss the meeting between the prime minister and the pontiff. Pettipas accompanied former Assembly of First Nations grand chief, Phil Fontaine, to a private audience with Pope Benedict in 2009 when the pontiff offered his “sorrow” at the anguish caused to aboriginal children in Canada, including Fontaine. Benedict offered his “sympathy and prayerful solidarity.” He did not apologize. Fontaine, at the time, said the absence of the word “apology” did not diminish the moment and Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast told the Catholic Register he did believe Benedict’s statement to be an apology. Prendergast sounded grudging in his acceptance of the “striking demand” made by Sinclair. “I guess every Pope has to do it,” he said, then wondered whether the same demand will be made of the next pontiff and “what will be the next demand?” There is already talk of Pope Francis visiting Canada in 2017, but Sinclair specifically called for a visit within a year. The TRC has pointed to Benedict’s 2010 letter of apology issued for the church’s abuse of children in Ireland. In the letter, distributed through that country’s Catholic churches, the then-Pope said he was “was truly sorry” for the betrayal of trust and the violation of dignity. But there is one difference. Benedict did not issue the apology in person, in Ireland. Pettipas said he realizes the “mystique of the Holy See and the papacy” means we keep returning to the idea of the Pope travelling to express regrets. Harper should do all he can to make it happen. Even before the Pope apologizes, there is one more step for all the churches — ante up, as Sinclair demands, for permanent programs for healing and reconciliation projects and culture and language revitalization projects. Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. tharper@thestar.ca
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