Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
Pope Francishas apologized for the Catholic Church’s “catastrophic” residential school system for Indigenous children in Canada.
Over 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend Christian-based, state-run schools, starting in the 1870s and ending in 1997,CBCreported. More than 4,100 of the students are believed to have died at the facilities, which separated the kids from their family and culture.
“I am deeply sorry — sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples,” Francis said in Spanish, perThe Washington Post.
Francis, who arrived in Canada on Sunday, also promised a “serious investigation” into the schools,CNNreported.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
He later added, “What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” according to thePost.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
Monday’s speech was the first event of Francis' “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, which will last six days, the AP reported.
While at Ermineskin, four chiefs presented the pope with feathered headdress, which he was pictured wearing on Monday.
The pontiff will also visit the sites of former residential schools in Alberta, Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, during his trip to Canada, the outlet reported.
He is expected to make additional remarks later this week, per thePost.
Pope Francis received a round of applause after using the phrase “sorry” twice during Monday’s speech, according to the report.
Felisha Crier Hosein attended the event in place of her mother, who helped develop the Samson Cree Nation and died in May, per the AP. “I came here to represent her and to be here for the elders and the community,” she said.
“Sorry is not going to make what happened go away,” Hosein explained. “But it means a lot to the elders.”
In April, Pope Francis apologized for the suffering inflicted on Canada’s Indigenous Peoples while speaking to a group of Indigenous leaders from Canada’s First Nations at the Vatican.
“For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry,” he said, according to Vatican News, an outlet officially affiliated with the Catholic Church.
source: people.com
