A papal Apology is a good step, but more needs to be done.
Over 24000 Canadians signed a petition stating the “Catholic Church Must Apologize for Residential Schools & the Murdered Children in Canada.” https://chng.it/Lg6SDGXB The Petition was submitted to the Vatican, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, the Vatican’s Ambassador to Canada in September of 2021.
The Petition called for “"The Catholic and Anglican Church Must formally acknowledge its role in Residential Schools, apologize, and begin consultations of Indigenous communities in Canada to help in the process of Reconciliation and forgiveness.
The Government of Canada should mandate Indigenous history as a prerequisite for all formal education, including in all catholic schools.”
The apology by Pope Francis good step but more needs to be done to address the murder of indigenous children and the dark history of residential schools. Canada must do more to teach and mandate Indigenous education in schools across the country.
As a Catholic, I feel a tremendous shame for our church’s history of persecution of indigenous children, and today marks a historic step forward towards reconciliation and healing. We must never accept evil in this world, especially on our soil. We must continue in the pursuit of a better world, and Canada must do more to protect our indigenous communities.
Today I want to thank all those who took the time to sign the petition and helped be part of this historic achievement.
Edy Haddad
Windsor, ON