Indigenous groups in the United States are also criticizing Pope Francis’ official apology for the church’s role in Canada’s residential school system.
The US National Native Congress recognized the pope’s apology as a historic moment, but demanded more of the Catholic Church.
Its president, Fawn Sharp, pointed out that the Canadian residential school system was set up following a similar model that was already present in the United States. This American version of residential schools would also be under the magnifying glass of the Department of Homeland Security.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is demanding that the Church invalidate the Doctrine of Discovery — a 15th-century policy that many countries, including Canada, have used to justify the colonization of ancestral First Nations lands. .
The group also noted that the pope never mentioned sexual abuse during his speech. He also did not speak of genocide or the church’s plans to act on what the coalition considers to be “crimes against humanity.”
The two organizations call on the Church to open its archives so that the registers of the residents are accessible to the First Nations, while actively participating in the next steps of the reconciliation process.
Pope Francis is moving to Quebec on Wednesday for the next part of what he called his “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada.
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