Ottawa –
Organizers of the papal visit say the Vatican has “clarified” part of Pope Francis’ apology to residential school survivors, citing a translation error.
The pope’s words near Edmonton this week raised questions when he said an important part of ending the pardon request “will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what happened.”
Francis, born in Argentina, spoke Spanish and the apology was translated into English.
Organizers of the papal visit said in a statement that the Vatican had “clarified” that the English translation should mean that survivors had heard the pope say that a “serious search” was needed next, not a “serious investigation.”
“Hearing what the Holy Father had to say, he expressed his deep desire that the Catholic community continue to take steps towards the transparent search for truth and promote healing and reconciliation,” organizers said in a statement.
They say the Canadian bishops have also promised to hand over documents that could help communities identify the remains of Indigenous children believed to be buried in unmarked graves at former school sites.
A request to see school records held by the Vatican and other Catholic entities is among the outstanding demands facing Pope Francis as he tours Canada.
Yellowhead Institute executive director Hayden King, who is Anishinaabe from Ontario’s Beausoleil First Nation, said his immediate reaction to the pontiff mentioning the need for a search or investigation is how the Vatican is only beginning to understand the damage that has been done .
“We’ve been living in this … since before the Confederacy,” he said.
“We’re not necessarily looking for another investigation.”
King said that while the pope discussed the need for fact-finding, the Catholic Church had “thousands” of pages of documents naming clerics who had abused indigenous children forced to attend boarding schools.
“Everybody else is looking for something much more than … ‘We’re going to go and find out what happened and get back to you.'”
At the same time, King said that if an investigation or search leads to the release of more documents held by the church, that would help.
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, which collects school records, said in a statement that the Catholic Church must cooperate “to show accountability.”
Canada is already investigating the system through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which ran from 2008 to 2015.
He heard from nearly 7,000 survivors and their families about what happened in the institutions and described how thousands of children suffered abuse, neglect and malnutrition.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 28, 2022.
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