The Catholic Church in Canada issued a formal apology this Friday (24.09.2021) to indigenous peoples after the discovery in recent months of more than 1,000 graves near former residential schools, although activists still expect a my culpa of Pope Francis, considered crucial for the reconciliation process.

“We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our deep remorse and offer an unequivocal apology,” they said. They also recognized “the suffering experienced in boarding schools” and the “serious abuses committed by certain members” of the Catholic community.

“Many religious communities and Catholic dioceses served in this system which led to the suppression of indigenous languages, culture and spirituality, without respecting the rich history, traditions and wisdom of indigenous peoples,” they said. admitted. The statement also acknowledges “the historical and current traumas, as well as the legacy of suffering and challenges that endure to this day for Indigenous peoples.”

In total, more than 1,000 unmarked graves were found this summer near former Catholic residential schools for Indigenous girls and boys, shedding light on a dark page in Canadian history and its policy of forced assimilation of First Nations.

Some 150,000 Native American Métis and Inuit girls and boys were forcibly recruited into 139 such boarding schools across the country, where they were isolated from their families, language and culture. Many of them were victims of ill-treatment and sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 died, according to a commission of inquiry which called the practice a veritable “cultural genocide”. In recent months, the grisly findings have sparked outrage and anger in the country.

Symbolically, the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa remains at half mast to pay tribute to indigenous children, after the remains of 215 children were discovered in Kamloops, British Columbia (west) at the end of May.

The bishops’ apology comes less than a week before the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, in honor of missing children and residential school survivors, scheduled for September 30.

likes (AFP, Reuters)