Rome –
Pope Francis says the abuse faced by indigenous people while being forced to attend schools amounts to genocide.
The pope made the comments Friday to reporters on his flight from Iqaluit back to Rome after his six-day tour of Canada.
Francis apologized several times this week for the role the Roman Catholic Church plays in institutions. He asks for forgiveness for the abuses committed by some members of the church, as well as for cultural destruction and forced assimilation.
Some local people said they were disappointed that during his visit the pope did not name the crimes and abuse faced by the students and survivors. They also criticized him for not using the term genocide.
When asked if he would use the word genocide and accept that members of the church participated in genocide, Francis answered in the affirmative.
The pope said he did not think to use the word genocide during his trip, calling it a technical term.
“I asked for forgiveness for what was done, which was genocide, and I really condemned it,” he said in Spanish through a translator.
Francis said that instead of using the word genocide, he was describing attempts to destroy indigenous peoples through assimilation and colonization.
“To take away children, to change the culture, their way of thinking, their traditions – to change a race, an entire culture… yes, I use (use) the word genocide.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential schools a form of cultural genocide when it released its final report in 2015. But a number of local groups have since changed that to say it is genocide.
Leah Ghazan, a Manitoba NDP member of parliament, introduced a motion in the House of Commons last year calling on the federal government to recognize what happened at the schools as genocide, but it did not receive unanimous approval.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded in its final report that violence against women and girls is a form of genocide. The effects of residential schools were the subject of many testimonies from families and survivors.
Neglect and physical and sexual abuse were widespread in the schools, and the Catholic Church ran 60 percent of the institutions.
During his Canadian visit, Francis expressed grief, outrage and shame.
“In the face of this terrible evil, the church kneels before God and begs for his forgiveness for the evil done by so many Christians against indigenous people,” he told a group of residential school survivors and their families gathered in Maskwatzis, Alta., on Monday.
During his stops in Alberta, Quebec, and Nunavut, the pope was met with messages urging him to revoke the Doctrine of Discovery, the papal bulls or official declarations that had been developed to justify the colonization of the Americas. The doctrine was about thinking that colonized lands were empty when in fact they were home to indigenous people.
Some indigenous scholars say the doctrine underpinned all the policies that came after it.
Indigenous leaders have been calling for its repeal for decades, and reports intensified before and during the pope’s visit.
Many said they were disappointed it was not part of the pope’s apology.
He was asked on the plane Friday if he thought an opportunity had been missed to take concrete steps toward reconciliation.
“Colonization is bad. It is unfair and even today it is used. Maybe with silk and gloves, but it’s still used,” he said.
“Let us be clear that colonization is not over. The same colonization exists today.”
Vatican officials said a statement on the matter was forthcoming.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which helped organize the papal trip, said in a statement that bishops plan to work with the Vatican to address it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 30, 2022.
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If you are a former survivor of a school disaster or have been affected by the school system and need help, you can contact Indian Schools’ 24-hour crisis line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
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