“A devastating mistake”: Pope Francis on Monday issued a historic apology to the Native American people of Canada, asking “forgiveness for the wrong” done for decades in residential schools for natives.

“I am distressed.

I ask forgiveness,” the pope said in Maskwacis, Alberta, in western Canada.

Referring to the “wounds still open”, he recognized the responsibility of certain members of the Church in this system where “the children suffered physical and verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse”.

The words of the sovereign pontiff had been awaited for years by these peoples – First Nations, Métis and Inuit – who today represent 5% of the Canadian population.

They were greeted with loud applause.

" Shame "

After praying at the Maskwacis cemetery, Pope Francis asked "forgiveness" three times, "with shame and clarity", during this first speech on the site of the former Ermineskin boarding school, in the presence of many survivors and members of indigenous communities, very moved.

"Assimilation policies have ended up systematically marginalizing indigenous peoples", he insisted, lamenting that "many Christians (have) supported the colonizing mentality of the powers" who "oppressed" them.

The painful chapter of “residential schools” for indigenous children caused at least 6,000 deaths between the end of the 19th century and the 1990s and created trauma over several generations.

The Canadian government, which has paid billions of dollars in reparations to former students, officially apologized 14 years ago for establishing these schools to "kill the Indian in the heart of the child ".

The Anglican Church then did the same.

But the Catholic Church, in charge of more than 60% of these boarding schools, has long refused to do so.

"Historic Day"

Under a light rain and in an atmosphere of contemplation, about 2,000 people were gathered near the former Ermineskin boarding school, one of the largest in Canada, open from 1895 to 1975. Many wore clothes with the name or the their community logo.

Others, the orange T-shirt symbol of the natives.

"It was an exceptional day, a historic day," reacted at a press conference Vernon Saddleback, chief of the Samson Cree Nation, who said he was "grateful".

These apologies are “a first step” but “there is still a lot of work to do”, reacted George Arcand Jr., Grand Chief of the Confederation of First Nations of Treaty No.

6.

“It is a great pain that we have suffered.

It is a time to forgive and work together with the Catholic Church for the future of the community,” André Carrier, of the Manitoba Métis Federation, told AFP, hat on his head and medallion around his neck.

"Reconciliation"

In the afternoon, the pope then went as a “friend” to the restored Church of the Sacred Heart of the First Peoples of Edmonton, evoking “reconciliation”.

“No one can erase the dignity violated, the harm suffered, the trust betrayed.

And even our shame to us, believers, must never be erased”, he affirmed.

At the end of the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, present in Maskwacis on Monday, also insisted on reconciliation which is "the business of all Canadians".

"No one should forget what happened in the residential schools, and we must all ensure that it never happens again", he added, inviting all citizens to "show openness, listening and sharing.

In April, the Pope for the first time apologized to the Vatican for the role played by the Church in the 130 boarding schools, where some 150,000 indigenous children were forcibly recruited, cut off from their families, their language and their culture, and often victims of physical, psychological and sexual violence.

Little by little, Canada is opening its eyes to this past, now called “cultural genocide”: the discovery of more than 1,300 anonymous graves in 2021 near these boarding schools created a shock wave.

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