Residential Schools | Murray Sinclair disappointed by Pope’s apology

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chairman Murray Sinclair denounced in a statement “a gaping omission” in Monday’s papal apology.

Mathieu Perreault
The Press

“The Holy Father’s statement left a gaping omission in acknowledging the Church’s role in the residential school system, identifying only members of the Church. It is important to recognize that the Church was not only an agent of the state or a participant in government policies but was one of the main instigators of the darkest chapters in the history of this country. »

On Monday, Pope Francis deplored, on the site of the former Maskwacis boarding school, the actions of “many members of the Church and religious communities”. He used the words “catastrophic” “devastating error”, but about “policies related to residential schools”.

“There are clear examples in our history where the Church has called on the Government of Canada to be more aggressive and bold in its work of destroying Indigenous culture, traditions and beliefs,” Sinclair said, without give details. “This was an institutional effort to cut children off from their families and cultures, in the name of Christian supremacy. »

Mr. Sinclair also attacks the “doctrine of discovery”, a collection of legal documents dating from the Renaissance. These papal bulls granted the various European powers the right to take possession of Aboriginal lands and convert them to Christianity.

Raymond Poisson, Bishop of Saint-Jérôme and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, felt in an interview with The Press this spring that much research in the Vatican archives will be necessary to answer this request. “‘Doctrine of Discovery’ is an American term,” said Mr.^gr Fish interviewed from Rome. It is not a doctrine in the Catholic sense, something to which all believers must adhere. We’ll see if there are any papal bulls to repudiate. There could also be others who have stood up for indigenous peoples. »

Sinclair’s criticism is harsher than that of Anglican Church leader Justin Welby, who in May visited three former residential school sites in Ontario and Saskatchewan to ask forgiveness for the role of his Church in this system and meets former residential school students. Mr. Sinclair had blamed Mr.^gr Welby for not having met more indigenous communities.

The Catholic Church operated two-thirds of the residential schools. The rest was overseen by Protestant churches.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established by the federal government and for six years heard testimony about residential schools across the country. A report was released in 2015. Mr. Sinclair is an Anishinabe lawyer from Saskatchewan who was a senator and now heads Queens University in Ontario.