Indigenous peoples of Canada have accepted Pope Francis’ apology

The Indigenous Canadian “Accepted” Pope Francis apologizes For the role of the Catholic Church Boarding schools established by the Government of Canada to integrate Indigenous peoples And they said this Friday was a “sign of good faith.”

During a news conference in Rome, representatives of three Canadian indigenous groups who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican this week expressed their satisfaction with the apology.

Canadian indigenous peoples are divided into the Indus (Canadian Arctic Indigenous peoples), the Medes (or Mestisos, the result of a mixture of indigenous peoples and French immigrants) and the first large group of more than one million people. Members.

Gerald Antoine, president of Dene, one of Canada’s first group of nations, called April 1 a “historic” day, and said Canadians’ accept the apology as a sign of good faith. ” At the end of July to “formally apologize” to all tribes.

“Today is a very special day,” Antoine explained, because “finally”, Canadian aborigines will be able to “put an end to it somewhat” although more work will be required.

On behalf of the Inuit, Natan Obed noted that “today’s apology is long overdue”, while Métis ‘Cassidy Caron said in “Pop Francis’ Today Report” that the tribe could verify that the Catholic leader had been asked.

But old Angie Grier said the meeting with the pope “will never be forgotten” and that Francis promised to “never forget” the thousands of aboriginal children who went missing in residential schools in Canada. .

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, “thanked” Pope Francis for his apology this Friday for the treatment he received in boarding schools established by Canada to unite indigenous peoples. , Administered by the Catholic religious order.

Trudeau, who has apologized in the past for the Canadian government’s role in establishing a boarding school system where tens of thousands of indigenous children have been subjected to formal physical, psychological and sexual abuse, said he hoped Pope Francis would apologize to survivors. Residential schools when I go to Canada.

In 2015, the Canadian Prime Minister announced in a statement that one of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was that “the pope’s apology will be particularly responsive to school residences made in Canada and their families.” It happened in school apartments.

“Today’s apology is a precursor to acknowledging the truth of Canada’s past,” Trudeau concluded.

Although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report in 2015, most of its 94 recommendations have not been implemented by the Canadian government.

Although Trudeau came to power in 2015 with a political agenda that highlighted reconciliation with Native Canadians, he was criticized by the Prime Minister for not taking action.

Last year, Trudeau ignored Indian requests to visit one of the school hostels on National Truth and Reality Day following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves believed to contain the remains of thousands of missing children in government boarding schools.

Shortly after it was announced that Trudeau had turned down a holiday visit with his family, Canadian Prime Minister Tk’emlúps te secwe’pemc agreed to visit Indian territory to apologize.