Pope apologizes for ‘sins’ during colonization
QUITO, Ecuador — Pope Francis asked for forgiveness for crimes committed by the Catholic Church during the colonization of the Americas at a summit in Bolivia, home to one of the region’s largest indigenous populations.
“I say with sorrow that the church has committed many serious sins against the indigenous peoples of America in the name of God,” Francis said to applause at a summit in Santa Cruz, Bolivia on Thursday.
“I humbly ask for forgiveness not only for the offences of the church itself, but also for the crimes against native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.”
The Pope did not specifically mention North America — or Canada — in his remarks.
He met Prime Minister Stephen Harper briefly at The Vatican on June 11, one week after the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the abuse of Canadian aboriginal children in residential schools over several generations.
Harper did not directly request an apology from the Pope for the Catholic Church role in the schools, but did draw his attention to a letter on the subject from Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.
Pope Francis, on his second stop in a three-nation tour of Latin America, also defended the church and denounced the modern-day persecution of its members for speaking out against injustices and powerful interests.
“Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus,” Francis said.
“This too needs to be denounced,” he said; in this “third world war,” waged piecemeal, “which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.”