Pope Francis has agreed to meet in December with Indigenous survivors of Canada’s notorious residential schools amid calls for a papal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children.
Indigenous peoples
Posted inEditorials, Politics & Society
The Catholic Church must come clean—completely—about what it did to Native Americans
Forgiveness and healing can begin only after the most difficult part is addressed: confronting the past, speaking the truth, revealing the worst.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
U.S. bishops respond to Interior Department investigation of Native American boarding schools
“We are deeply saddened by the information coming out of two former residential boarding school sites in Canada,” Chieko Noguchi, the spokesperson of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Over 600 bodies found at another Catholic school for Indigenous children in Canada
The discovery that follows last month’s report of 215 bodies found at another school.
Posted inFaith, News
Fires that destroyed 2 churches on Canadian Indigenous reserves deemed ‘suspicious’
Two Roman Catholic churches on First Nations reserves in British Columbia have burned to the ground in overnight fires, Canada’s national police force said Monday.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
A burial site for Indigenous children was found in Canada. Could it happen in the United States?
“The fundamental reality of children dying at these boarding schools is not a new story.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The Indigenous people of Canada want an apology from Pope Francis
The discovery of the unmarked graves of First Nations’ children led to renewed calls for a papal apology in Canada to respond to the legacy of residential schools and revived questions about the church’s role in colonialism in Canada.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis calls for abandonment of colonial mentality after discovery of buried Indigenous children in Canada
“Canadian political and religious authorities may continue to cooperate with determination to shed light on that sad situation and to commit themselves humbly to a path of reconciliation and healing,” Pope Francis said.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Canadian Catholic leaders express sorrow after bodies of over 200 Indigenous children discovered at residential school
Archbishop Miller was “filled with deep sadness” after the bodies of more than 200 children were found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s large Indigenous residential school.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
In letter from prison, Jesuit Father Stan details how poor Indians are jailed without knowing why
Indian Jesuit Father Stan Swamy marked 100 days in prison with a letter highlighting the cases of poor people languishing in jail who begin their trials without even knowing their criminal charges.