Pope Heads To Canada To Make Amends For Indigenous School Abuse
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 24, 2022 | 09:10 PM
Aboard the Papal Plane, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2022 ) :Pope Francis was headed to Canada on Sunday for a chance to personally apologise to Indigenous survivors of abuse committed over a span of decades at residential schools run by the Catholic Church.
The head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics will be met at Edmonton's international airport by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 11:20 am (1720 GMT).
Francis' Canada visit is primarily to apologize to survivors for the Church's role in the scandal that a national truth and reconciliation commission has called "cultural genocide".
Before he left Rome earlier Sunday, the pope said on Twitter he was making a "penitential pilgrimage" that "might contribute to the journey of reconciliation already undertaken".
He will be joined on the visit by his diplomacy chief, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's second most senior official.
From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children into 139 residential schools run by the Church, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture.
Many were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers.
Thousands of children are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect.
Since May 2021, more than 1,300 unmarked graves have been discovered at the sites of the former schools.
A delegation of Indigenous peoples travelled to the Vatican in April and met the pope -- a precursor to Francis' six-day trip -- after which he formally apologized.
But doing so again on Canadian soil will be of huge significance for survivors and their families, for whom the land of their ancestors is of particular importance.
The 10-hour flight constitutes the longest since 2019 for the 85-year-old pope, who has been suffering from knee pain that has forced him to use a cane or wheelchair in recent outings.
The pope was in a wheelchair Sunday and used a lifting platform to board the plane, an AFP correspondent accompanying him said.
- 'Too late' - After resting Sunday, the pope will travel Monday to the community of Maskwacis, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Edmonton, and address an estimated crowd of 15,000 expected to include former students from across the country.
"I would like a lot of people to come," said Charlotte Roan, 44, interviewed by AFP in June. The member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation said she wanted people to come "to hear that it wasn't made up".
Others see the pope's visit as too little too late, including Linda McGilvery with the Saddle Lake Cree Nation near Saint Paul, about 200 kilometres east of Edmonton.
"I wouldn't go out of my way to see him," said the 68-year-old.
"For me it's kind of too late, because a lot of the people suffered, and the priests and the nuns have now passed on." McGilvery spent eight years of her childhood in one of the schools, from age six to 13.
"Being in the residential school I lost a lot of my culture, my ancestry. That's many years of loss," she told AFP.
After a mass before tens of thousands of faithful in Edmonton on Tuesday, Francis will head northwest to an important pilgrimage site, the Lac Sainte Anne.
Following a July 27-29 visit to Quebec City, he will end his trip in Iqaluit, capital of the northern territory of Nunavut and home to the largest Inuit population in Canada.
There he will meet with former residential school students, before returning to Italy.
In total, Francis is expected to deliver four speeches and four homilies, all in Spanish.
Francis is the second pope to visit Canada, after John Paul II, who visited three times (1984, 1987 and 2002).
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Tennis: ATP Barcelona Open results - 1st update
Swiatek's perfect 10 in Stuttgart as Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka
Arandu's roads closed due to flooding
Oil tanker catches fire in Islamabad’s Blue Area
Pakistan committed to ensure safety of foreign nationals: FO
Tennis: WTA Stuttgart results - 1st update
Four passengers injured as train hit an empty vehicle
Over- speeding bus crushed to death two bike riders
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
Iranians appear unfazed by Isfahan blasts
UAF celebrates Int'l Chinese Language Day
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
20 hours ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
5 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
5 days ago -
Besant Hall Cultural Centre to celebrate evening with Sanam Marvi on 26 April
6 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur presents program “Eidi Shidi”
9 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur to broadcast Eid programs
11 days ago
-
DC, DPO Haripur inspect bus terminals to review fares compliance
13 days ago -
Second phase of refugees’ repatriation to start after Eidul Fitr vacations
13 days ago -
Reaping bounties as Ramazan culminates
13 days ago -
Digital transformation – a boon or bane
13 days ago -
Plants’ business: Another casualty of climate change
15 days ago -
Eid shoppers prioritize children’s joy over personal comforts
15 days ago