Charles’ sorrow over Canadian church schools abuse horrors
Listening key to healing, says Prince
PRINCE Charles has stressed the need to deal with “the darker aspects of the past” amid a school child abuse scandal in Canada.
The Queen has been called on to apologise for the brutal treatment of indigenous children at residential schools run by the Anglican church.
On the first day of his royal tour with the Duchess of Cornwall, Charles said the process
“starts with listening”.
A scandal involving the removal of children from communities before placing them into national schools raged from the 19th century until 1996. Thousands died or suffered abuse.
Community leaders have demanded apologies and reparations from the Anglican Church, which ran 36 residential schools and more than 150 Indian day schools between 1820 and 1969.
Indigenous groups have long campaigned for reparations.
After landing at St John’s airport in the east of the country, the royals were joined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Confederation Building.
Charles, 73, said: “As we look towards our collective future, we must find new ways to come to terms with the darker aspects of the past. It is a process that starts with listening.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have apologised to survivors of the scandal. President of the Metis National Council, Cassidy Caron, says the Queen should be next.
She said: “There’s so much healing that is needed. Some financial reparations are helpful in helping us move forward.”
As part of his efforts to connect with local people, Charles interchanged between English and French during his speech.