Canada: During his apology tour in Canada, Pope Francis addressed a serious wound that many survivors wanted him to address: the sexual abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run schools in Canada.
The pope announced that the church in Canada was on a new path after being "devastated by the evil committed by some of his sons and daughters" during Thursday evening's Vespers service at the Quebec City cathedral.
On the final day of his six-day visit to Canada, the Pope said, "I think particularly of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people, the scandals that require strong action and an irrevocable commitment." "I want to join you once again to apologize to everyone. The pain and humiliation we experience should serve as a catalyst for change: never again.
More than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken away from their families and enrolled in schools between 1870 and 1996. This was the first time the Pope had specifically addressed the issue of sexual abuse in schools.
A system referred to by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission as "cultural genocide" involves starvation or beating of children for speaking their mother tongue and the sexual exploitation of many of them.
The remarks follow the Pope's historic apology from Monday in the town of Muskavsis, the location of two former schools, in which he denounced church participation and forced cultural assimilation in schools as an "outrageous evil" and a "catastrophic error". ,
Although that apology sparked a lot of emotion and received praise as the first step towards reconciliation, survivors also criticized it for falling short of their expectations. One of his complaints was that sexual abuse was not mentioned.
In response to another complaint from survivors, the pope has continued to elaborate on his apology and has indicated an institutional failure on the part of the Church to allow rampant abuse in schools.
On Thursday morning, the pope made some of his most forceful remarks to date regarding the Catholic Church's overall failure to address abuse in local schools.
Presiding over a mass at the Basilica of Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre outside Quebec City, the pope spoke about "the burning question that this Pilgrim Church in Canada is asking".
The Pope said, “We too have experienced deep despair; we too feel the burden of the evil condemnation of our native brothers and sisters being wounded in the flesh and failure to face the body of Christ.”
Why did all this happen? How is it possible that this would happen in the community of Jesus' followers? Two native women hoist a banner at the beginning of Mass requesting that she formally repeal the doctrine of discovery, a set of papal edicts from the 15th century that allowed the appropriation of Native lands in the New World Will be
The basilica, where Mass was celebrated, is the oldest Catholic pilgrimage site in North America. It stands where a small church, built in 1658 to house a statue of St. Anne, considered miraculous by French colonists, once stood.
Thousands watched the massive television screens outside, while nearly three-quarters of the 1,400 seats inside were given to survivors of residential schools and other indigenous peoples. Overall, attendance was the highest since the Pope's visit.
Residential school survivors had access to psychological counselors when needed.
In line with the assimilation policies of successive Canadian governments, many residential schools were run by Christian organizations. Most were controlled by Catholic religious orders.
During his private meeting with the pope on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on the church to "take concrete action to bring back indigenous artifacts, provide access to residential school documents, address the principle of discovery", According to his office. , and ensure justice for the survivors, including the Rivoire case."
Johannes Rivoire, a retired priest, is accused of sexually abusing indigenous people in Canada's north, and Canada is requesting that France extradite him so that he can be held accountable for his actions.
Indigenous Canadians have asked Vatican museums to return items that missionaries have sent to the Vatican over the years, including a kayak built by the Inuvialite people of the Mackenzie Delta in the western Arctic, believed to be 100 to 150 years old. Is. Made of wood and sealskin.
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