First modification:
Members and representatives of indigenous peoples of Canada are preparing for the next visit of Pope Francis, scheduled for July 24-29. This trip generates expectations as the pontiff is expected to apologize for the abuses committed, for decades, against native pupils in Catholic boarding schools. But some claim gestures of a political nature.
From July 24 to 29, Pope Francis will be visiting Canada. He is expected to take advantage of the trip to apologize for the abuses committed against the indigenous populations.
But for the head of the Huronne-Wendat community, Rémy Vincent, not only is it enough to wipe the slate clean, we have to go further: “We are far from thinking that with an apology we will turn the page… It takes more than that,” he says.
United Nations Declaration
Rémy Vincent asks for the support of the Church to convince the Québec government to adopt, as Ottawa did, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“The Church must support and side with the indigenous peoples to, for example, take clear positions on the United Nations Declaration for native peoples and indigenous rights,” Vincent believes.
The declaration affirms the rights to their language, culture, self-determination and ownership of their traditional territories, among others.
“Really take responsibility”
Boarding school alumni hope the pope will reiterate his apologies for the Church’s role in those schools — an important step toward reconciliation and healing of their wounds.
“Not just an excuse, but also really taking responsibility for what happened in their schools,” says the great head of the Grand Council of the Quebec Cree community, Mandy Gull-Masty. According to her, she still has a long way to go: “The most important thing is to know what will happen after her visit.”
Ghislain Picard, head of the Assembly of First Nations of Québec and Labrador, which brings together representatives from 10 nations, adds that each survivor will advance at their own pace: “Many speak of reconciliation, but it is the survivors who must define how and with whom. reconciliation occurs”, he stresses.
Open the files
Indigenous leaders also demand that the Church open its archives, which could facilitate searches on the grounds of former boarding schools: “Of course, there are other issues of a somewhat more political nature that deserve the attention of the Church. I am thinking, in particular, of the question of access to archives, which will facilitate excavations in certain boarding school sites”, explains Picard.
About 150,000 indigenous children were forced to attend these boarding schools between the end of the 19th century and the 1990s. It is estimated that some 6,000 minors died in these schools.
Add Comment