Pope Francis should apologize to Indigenous Canadians

It’s disappointing and more than a little puzzling to learn Pope Francis will not apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school tragedy.

It’s disappointing because so many of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit survivors of those misguided, destructive institutions sincerely want to hear an official statement of regret from the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. That’s part of the path to healing, they say.

It’s also disappointing because one of the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after it spent five years examining the residential school disaster, specifically called for a papal apology delivered on Canadian soil.

Indeed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally asked the Pope to consider this gesture when they met in the Vatican last year.

But last week, the unwelcome answer was no. The residential schools are a black mark on the history of the Canadian government but also some of Canada’s most prominent churches.

For more than a century, the federal government’s church-operated residential schools worked tirelessly to assimilate Indigenous children by forcing them to attend schools where they were forbidden to speak their languages or practise their cultures.

More than 150,000 Indigenous youngsters attended the schools between the 1880s and 1996, and many suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of priests, nuns or other teachers.

While the survivors of these institutions have received financial compensation, they deserve to hear the representatives of the powerful groups that ran the system publicly admit their responsibility and then apologize.

Irreparable harm was done — to individuals, families and Indigenous communities across the land.

The Canadian government as well as the United, Anglican and Presbyterian churches all apologized long ago for their part in this outrage.

Why can’t the Pope do the same?

It’s true that many Roman Catholic organizations in Canada have, over the years, issued apologies for their role in the residential schools. But this is not the same as the authoritative and definitive statement from the Pope that Indigenous Canadians seek.

The argument from Canadian bishops has always been that 16 out of 70 Catholic dioceses in Canada, along with three dozen religious communities, were associated with the residential schools.

Because each diocese and religious community is legally responsible for its actions, the bishops insist the Catholic Church as a whole is not responsible and should not apologize.

If that makes sense to the bishops, to Indigenous Canadians it will sound like a debate over how many angels can dance on a pinhead.

Such stubbornness is also puzzling. In 2010, a papal apology was issued to those in Ireland who had been sexually abused by priests.

Two years ago, Pope Francis visited Bolivia where he issued an apology for the “grave sins” of the church against Indigenous Peoples in the colonization of the Americas.

So why not apologize here, in Canada?

We hope these precedents will allow this popular Pope, who is famed for his thoughtful compassion, to reconsider his decision, come to Canada and say what needs to be said.

“Forgive us our debts,” is part of Christianity’s greatest prayer.

The Catholic Church has a debt owing to Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and should seek their forgiveness.