Pope Francis will not apologize for church-run schools in Canada, and lawmakers are not happy



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TORONTO (WASHINGTON POST) – Few leaders have enthusiastically embraced the power of apology for historical wrongs that Pope Francis and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

The First S & ## He is excused for the "serious sins" of colonialism. Bolivia, the persecution of Italian Pentecostals and the "failures" of the church during the Rwandan genocide.

The latter said sorry for the execution of six native chiefs by the colonial government of British Columbia, as well as decades of government …

But now, the two disagree on apologies – or rather, the absence of one.

Canadian legislators overwhelmingly pbaded a motion on Tuesday (May 1st) – the total number of votes was 269-10 – to officially invite Francis to come to Canada and apologize for the role of the Church Catholic in the Indian Residential Schools System in Canada for Aboriginal Children

. Nadi authorities removed more than 150,000 Aboriginal children from their homes from 1883 to 1998, sending them to boarding schools where they suffered physical, psychological and badual abuse. About two-thirds of the schools were run by the Catholic Church

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which investigated the residential school system for six years, included the pope's apology among its 94 recommendations on Ways to Fix Canada's Catholic Bishops said in a letter last month that the pope "could not respond personally," prompting harsh criticism

. the promotion of politics, it was the bishops who oversaw it and it was the bishops who worked hand-in-hand with the federal government and concealed it, "said Charles Angus, legislator who introduced the motion.

Trudeau, who asked the Pope to consider an apology during a visit to the Vatican in May 2017, said the decision had left him "disappointed".

The Vatican Representative in Canada did not respond to requests for a Washington Post comment.

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The Bishops of Canada Presented a Rationale for the Pope's Decision

Some argue that the papacy has been sufficiently apologetic for boarding schools. They point to a meeting in 2009 during which Pope Benedict XVI told Phil Fontaine, then Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada's largest Aboriginal organization, that he felt "sadness". For schools

. Groups say "sadness" is not enough enough

They want formal papal excuses like Benedict's in 2010 for people badually abused by clergy in Ireland, or Francis's more recent apology

" . Hearing apologies directly from Pope Francis would have a profound impact for many of our people and would be an important act of healing and reconciliation, as would the apology to the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas in 2015, "said Perry Bellegarde, the presenter. National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

The motion also calls on the Church to pay the 25 million Canadian dollars (26 million Canadian dollars) that she owes under the law. A 2007 Settlement Between the Canadian Government and

The United, Presbyterian and Anglican Churches, which ran many other schools, excused their roles in the residential school system in the 1990s. Trudeau's predecessor, Stephen Harper, issued an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government in 2008.

Others are concerned that the pope, who depends on bishops and prefers to make decisions when there is consensus, is confronted "In different parts of the country, our relations with Aboriginal peoples are different and the things we hear from our Aboriginal peoples are different Said Donald Bolen, Archbishop of Saskatchewan, who supports the call. for apologies, to the CBC broadcaster.

Even those who support papal excuses have concerns. Some wonder if the government has a business asking for an apology at the head of a religious group. Others wonder if the apology requested in this way would be sincere.

Michael McLeod, a Liberal Party legislator who represents an area where he says the legacy of the residential school is still felt, told Parliament that, although he has accepted the necessary excuses, "Forcing someone one to apologize does not sit well with me. "

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