Headlines: Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous peoples in Canada

Pope Francis in the Clementine Room where he receives indigenous delegations from Canada at the Vatican, April 1, 2022. via REUTERS - VATICAN MEDIA

Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow

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At the Vatican, Pope Francis received this Friday morning representatives of the indigenous peoples of Canada.

“ 

I am ashamed, I feel shame and sadness for the role that many Catholics, especially those who have had educational responsibilities, have played in all that has hurt you, in abuse and disrespect towards your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,

 ” the Holy Father said.

“ 

For the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask God's forgiveness.

And I would like to tell you from the bottom of my heart that I am sincerely sorry.

I join my brother bishops of Canada in apologizing to you

.

»

The pope's apology for the thousands of Indigenous children who died in the 20th century in church-run residential schools in Canada has been eagerly awaited.

And it is therefore hardly surprising that the first reactions of the press reflect deep relief.

Beyond the members of the indigenous peoples, a whole country was " 

expecting a strong gesture from the pope

 ", writes

Le Journal du Québec

.

This long-awaited and long-awaited apology " 

comes after a historic and often poignant week on the road to truth and reconciliation

 ", writes the

Globe and Mail

.

The daily does not doubt the sincerity of the Holy Father.

“ 

Even the venue chosen within the Vatican testifies to the importance the pope places on the Canadian indigenous peoples: the huge Sala Clementina, built in the 16th century, has since been used by the popes only for sacred events

.

»

► 

To read also: Pope Francis receives natives of Canada, a crucial step towards healing

In Nicaragua, nine years in prison for the general manager of the newspaper

La Prensa

Like so many others in Nicaragua, he was arrested in August last year.

He will ultimately remain in prison until September 2030. A judge in Managua yesterday sentenced the general manager of

La Prensa

, the country's largest daily, to nine years in prison.

Nicaraguan justice found Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro guilty of money laundering.

La Prensa

, a daily which is one of the most critical voices of President Daniel Ortega, accuses the justice system of Nicaragua of being under the orders of the Sandinista regime and mentions: " 

Ortega's dictatorship imposes nine years in prison and a fine of one million dollars to the general manager of our newspaper

 .

The daily specifies that according to the lawyers of Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro, the court had presented no tangible proof which would justify such a judgment.

The Nicaraguan news site 

Informacion Puntual

adds that the judge also “ 

prohibited the general manager of La Prensa from exercising his profession or his function during the duration of his sentence

 ”.

The Inter-American Press Association denounces on Twitter " 

the savage dictatorship of Daniel Ortega who uses justice and fabricated crimes to imprison those whom it describes as opponents

 ".

For its part, the Guatemalan newspaper

La Critica

recalls that the premises of

La Prensa

as well as its printing works were seized last August by the Nicaraguan police and that the daily, since then, only publishes on its website.

Since the beginning of the popular uprising in April 2018 against the Ortega government, around 120 journalists have fled Nicaragua

 ", writes

La Critica

before concluding: the Sandinista president " 

qualifies the imprisoned opponents of 'son of a bitch of the Yankee imperialists 

'".

To read also: Nicaragua: the manager of the opposition newspaper "La Prensa" sentenced to nine years in prison

Haiti: the strike at the State University hospital lifted

The strike movement in the largest hospital center in the country to demand higher wages and better working conditions lasted a month.

“ 

This outcome follows talks between the Ministry of Public Health and the strikers.

Promises have been made

 ,” announces

Le Nouvelliste

.

But the editorialist wonders: “ 

Why did you wait a month before sitting down around a table

?

» Will « 

the promises be followed by effects?

How long ?

Because,

the newspaper emphasizes

, salary increases require funds that are not always available and the contract of trust is so fragile.

Patients risk having to pay the costs of the upheavals in the public health sector for months to come, if the dialogue does not quickly give birth to the revaluation of the situation of the hospital world

 ”.

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