The delegation made up of Canadian Catholic bishops and Aboriginals who were to go to Rome last December to meet Pope Francis will finally go there at the end of next month.
In light of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, both in Canada and around the world, the decision to postpone the trip was made out of concern for the safety of all delegates.
It is now planned that the sovereign pontiff will meet the various indigenous delegations during the week of March 28. A final hearing with all participants will take place on April 1
In the weeks leading up to travel, delegates will monitor the health situation in order to commit to travel only if it is deemed safe to do so.
Organizers are counting on the trip to convince the pope to come to Canada next to apologize for the Church’s role in running the federal residential school system for Indigenous people. The Vatican indicated in October that Francis would be willing to come to Canada, without specifying whether he would offer the church’s apologies.
Residential school survivors and their families have demanded a papal apology for abuses committed against Indigenous children forced to attend residential schools. These federal institutions were managed by religious communities, including the Catholic Church.
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