“It was an achievement on the part of the Indigenous community to convince Pope Francis to come to a First Nation community and humble himself before survivors in the way he did,” Phil Fontaine said.

Celebrating the feast day of Jesus’ grandparents, Pope Francis not only urged people to honor their elders, but he asked them to think about what they will hand on to future generations.

Pope Francis condemned Canada’s residential school system as “a deplorable evil” and asked forgiveness of the Indigenous Peoples for Christians participation in it.

“They want to hear the Holy Father say it was the Catholic Church that was ultimately responsible for what descended on the peoples of our country, the first peoples.”

“To remember the devastating experiences that took place in the residential schools hurts, angers, causes pain, and yet it is necessary.”

A new poll found that 75 percent of Hispanic Catholics say abortion should be legal in “most or all cases.” But interviews with community and faith leaders suggest more nuance, and more ambivalence, among Latinos.

Pope Francis landed in Edmonton and met briefly at the airport with Indigenous leaders, Canada's governor general and prime minister.

A Reflection for Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Sebastian Gomes

A Reflection for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Simcha Fisher

From July 24 to July 29, Pope Francis will meet with Indigenous People in Canada to apologize and ask forgiveness, on their land, for abuses perpetrated in largely Catholic Church-run residential schools.