The Catholic Church in Canada has issued a formal apology to Indigenous peoples following the discovery in recent months of more than 1,000 graves near former residential schools, though activists are still awaiting similar rebuke from Pope Francis, seen as crucial in the reconciliation process.

“We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our deep remorse and offer an unequivocal apology,” reads the note released on Friday (24). The bishops also acknowledged “the suffering experienced in boarding schools” and the “serious abuses committed by certain members” of the Catholic community.

“Many religious communities and Catholic dioceses served in this system which led to the suppression of indigenous languages, culture and spirituality, without respecting the rich history, traditions and wisdom of indigenous peoples,” they said. admitted.

The statement also recognizes the “historic and current trauma, as well as the legacy of suffering and challenges that endure to this day for Indigenous peoples.”

This summer, more than a thousand unmarked graves were found near former Catholic residential schools for Indigenous children, shedding light on a dark page in Canadian history and its policy of forced assimilation by First Nations.

Some 150,000 mystical and Inuth children were recruited from 139 boarding schools across the country, alienating them from their families, language and culture.

Many were victims of abuse and sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 died, according to a commission of inquiry which called the practice a veritable “cultural genocide”.

In recent months, the gruesome discoveries have sparked outrage and revolt in the country.

Symbolically, the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa remains at half-mast to pay tribute to indigenous children, after the discovery at the end of May of the remains of 215 children in Kamloops, British Columbia (west).

– Healing and reconciliation –

The national July Day celebration was marked by rallies across Canada, which brought thousands to the streets, most wearing orange t-shirts, a color associated with tributes to former Indigenous inhabitants.

At the same time, several churches were burned or destroyed.

In a gesture of appeasement, Ottawa has appointed an Inut woman as Governor General of Canada – the first Indigenous woman to represent Queen Elizabeth II.

However, many Indigenous groups are expecting another symbolic gesture, this time from the Pope, to whom they have apologized in person several times in Canada. Pope Francis will receive an indigenous delegation in December.

“We want an apology,” Rosanne Casimir, chief of the Tk’emlups te Secwpemc First Nation, said in early June after announcing the discovery of the Kamloops graves.

“It will be stronger coming from the head of the Catholic Church, and from our perspective, I think they owe it to the natives,” said David Chartrand, vice president and spokesperson for the Mets National Meet. , in early July.

According to this indigenous leader, an apology is fundamental to starting a process of healing and reconciliation, but it will only be truly effective if it is presented by Pope Francis on Canadian soil and in particular in the west of the country, where the most native boarding schools are located.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has made reconciliation with indigenous peoples one of his priorities, deplored the refusal of the pope and the Catholic Church to recognize their “responsibility” and “a share of responsibility” in boarding school management.

The apology comes less than a week before the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation for Missing Children and Residential School Survivors, scheduled for September 30.