Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Pope Francis apologises for 'pain and shame' of Canada residential schools

Pope Francis apologises for 'pain and shame' of Canada residential schools

Pope Francis has apologised to a Canadian indigenous delegation for the Catholic Church's role in the country's residential school system.

The schools, operated for more than a century, were run as part of government policy to assimilate indigenous children and destroy their cultures.

The Roman Catholic Church operated up to 70% of residential schools.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and indigenous leaders welcomed the Pope's apology, calling it a step forward.

Echoing other indigenous leaders gathered on Friday, Dene Nation National Chief Gerald Antoine called the papal apology "long overdue", saying it was a day "that will be lifted up in history".

Chief Antoine and his fellow leaders also said it will be important that a formal apology be made in Canada, one of the 94 "calls to action" released in 2015 stemming from the landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which looked into the legacy of residential schools.

The Pope on Friday confirmed he would make a trip to Canada later this year to meet indigenous communities and to assist with reconciliation efforts.

In his apology, Pope Francis said the residential schools caused him "pain and shame" and asked for God's forgiveness.

"For the deplorable behaviour of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness from God and I would like to tell you from the bottom of my heart that I am very pained," he said, speaking in Italian at the Vatican. "The content of faith cannot be transmitted in a way contrary to faith itself."

"I join my brother Canadian bishops in apologising," he added.

Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, thanked the Pope for his apology - delivered in "an empathic and caring way" - and said he was touched by the "way in which he [Pope Francis] expressed his sorrow and also the way in which he condemned the actions of the church in particular".

The pontiff was speaking to the whole delegation after separate private meetings during the week with its First Nations, Métis and Inuit representatives.

Friday's apology was the result of encounters between Pope Francis and indigenous leaders and residential school survivors, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement.

"Pope Francis was moved by their courage, their commitment and their resilience in the face of suffering," the statement said.

The visit by the delegation was organised by the conference, which has apologised for the suffering experienced at residential schools.

On Friday, Canadian Bishop William McGratten said the Catholic church in Canada held a "deep sense of gratitude" for the Pope's apology, and that it must be followed by action.

The church is committed to releasing records related to residential schools, he said, something that indigenous advocates have called for for years.

During the lifetime of the schools, an estimated 150,000 children were taken from their homes.

Many were subjected to abuse, illness and malnutrition and the TRC report called the residential schools system a central element of a policy of "cultural genocide".

Since last summer, thousands of unmarked graves, most believed to belong to former students, have been discovered at former school sites across the country.

Indigenous delegations unsuccessfully lobbied both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict for an apology. The latter issued a statement of regret in 2009, but without an acknowledgement of the church's wrongdoing.


Canada residential schools: "Six years old, I was imprisoned here"


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×