Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 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
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×