When we began this Petition in June, our goal was to develop public support urging the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to invite Pope Francis to visit Canada to deliver the apology requested in Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 58. 

The announcement on October 27th that the Pope had accepted an invitation from the CCCB to visit Canada was welcome news. 

Over 59,400 of you have signed the Petition! We wish to express our appreciation to each and every one of you for your support. We are confident that your support of the Petition was a significant influencing factor in the CCCB’s decision to extend the invitation, a necessary step under Catholic Church protocol before the Pope will visit a country.

Now that the Pope has accepted that invitation, we are confident that he will do the right thing when he visits Canada by delivering a full and sincere apology to the survivors who attended Catholic-operated residential schools, their families, and communities.

By lending your support to this Petition, each of you has played a meaningful role in the outcome.

Together, we are reconciliation in action!

George Valin & Maurice Switzer