(Winnipeg) A Métis group from Manitoba flew to Rome on Monday, days before a scheduled meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday.
Posted at 2:07 p.m.
The Manitoba Metis Federation delegation will be the first to meet with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church since he apologized to Indigenous peoples for the conduct of church members involved in residential schools.
The pope apologized to the Vatican earlier this month after a week of meetings with Métis, Inuit and First Nations delegates.
The Manitoba Metis Federation has arranged a separate meeting with the Pope.
Delegates include residential school survivors, elders and youth.
David Chartrand, president of the federation, says many Métis are deeply connected to the church.
“Now that His Holiness has issued an apology to all Indigenous peoples, we can focus our meeting on the relationship between the Red River Métis and the Catholic Church ― past, present and future,” Chartrand said in a statement. press release, Monday.
Some bishops will accompany Métis delegates from Manitoba to the Vatican.
“It is the desire of all the bishops of Canada to move forward with reconciliation and to build strong relationships with the Indigenous peoples of Canada,” said Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg, in a press release. hurry.
An estimated 150,000 Aboriginal children were forced to attend residential schools, over 60% of which were run by the Catholic Church.
1er April, the pontiff stood before a room of nearly 200 indigenous delegates and asked God’s forgiveness for the actions of the Catholic Church.
“I want to tell you with all my heart: I’m really sorry,” Pope Francis said in Italian. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your forgiveness. »
The pope also said he would come to Canada, possibly this summer.
Chartrand said he will ask the pope to come to Manitoba to “understand why we need to renew our relationship, especially in our small, remote communities, where the church is central to many.”
A Catholic priest played an important role in Métis leader Louis Riel’s founding of what would become Manitoba. Reverend Noël-Joseph Ritchot led the delegation that Mr. Riel sent to Ottawa to negotiate the entry of the Provisional Government into Confederation.
Mr. Riel himself was Catholic, but also wrote about his problems with the Church.
The Manitoba Métis Federation organized the separate meeting with the pope following the group’s withdrawal from the Métis National Council in 2021 after years of internal conflict.
The Métis National Council was part of the largest delegation earlier this month.