Pope Francis landed this Sunday in Canada and this Monday – with a cane, in a wheelchair or in an open car – he begins a “pilgrimage of penance” to apologize for the abuse of indigenous children.
Some 150,000 indigenous minors were sent to church centers in that North American country, which had financial support from the government, from the 19th century to 1990. The objective of these boarding schools was their assimilation into white culture, for which justified any means.
Physical abuse and sexual abuse were lavished as a method. In Canada, 130 such schools operated, more than 70% under the control of the Catholic Church.
As recent discoveries of more than a thousand mass graves have shown, thanks to laser technology applied underground, thousands of these children never returned home. This only confirmed what many families already knew and what white power did not want to hear about, let alone the religious institution.
For years, the Vatican resisted calls for a papal apology. After the silence of Benedict XVI, to whom the indigenous leader Phil Fontaine asked thirteen years ago for a declaration of forgiveness, Francisco, 85, makes repentance and apology for the damage caused the central issue of the six-day journey that breaks a long travel drought.
It starts in one of the old boarding schools in Maskwacis, 70 kilometers from Edmonton (Alberta), in a meeting with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Indigenous Populations, where he will express his apology surrounded by survivors. His route will end in Quebec on the 29th.
“I go especially to hug the indigenous people. I hope that you can contribute to the path of reconciliation”, said the Pope from the window of the apostolic palace. "Unfortunately, many Christians in Canada, including members of religious institutions, have contributed to policies of cultural assimilation that, in the past, have seriously damaged native communities," he stressed in an address to pilgrims.
The absence of an apology has been a source of conflict between the Catholic Church and the tribes. Catholics remain the largest religious group in a predominantly Christian country. Unlike the Protestant denominations, in free fall, the Catholic Church has suffered a gentle decline. From 43% in 1951 to 38% of Canadians who today identify as Catholic.
This is the first trip out of Rome since April, when he visited Malta and called for better treatment of immigrants. During this time there has been speculation about his health, after canceling an African tour of the Congo and South Sudan, scheduled for the beginning of this month. In the Vatican it was alleged that his knee problems made it difficult for him to move. She also suffers from sciatica and a year ago they removed part of her colon.
This quest takes you to two provinces and the arctic community of Iqaluit. His program lacks the usual intensity, except for the closure in Quebec.
