- We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools. We call for that apology to be similar to the 2010 apology issued to Irish victims of abuse and to occur within one year of the issuing of this Report and to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.
58. First Nations, Inuit and Metis children endured violence and abuse of all sorts in residential schools, much of it at the hands of the Catholic Church. The abuse that these poor children suffered has led to many problems, not only for the individuals who went to the residential schools, but also their families and communities. In Ireland, the Catholic Church was also found to be at fault for more abuse: six Irish priests were convicted on charges of sexual abuse of children between the years of 1975 and 2011. In the case of Ireland, the Pope issued a letter of apology to the victims. There is no reason that the same should not be done in Canada. The suffering endured by Canada’s aboriginal people be recognized and addressed by the Catholic Church. A formal apology needs to be given. What makes residential school survivors any different from the Irish victims?
Compiled by: Laura Moore