Quebec, Canada
Pope Francis addressed a serious wound that many survivors wanted him to address during his apology trip to Canada on Thursday by pleading for forgiveness for sexual abuse at Catholic-run schools for indigenous children in Canada. The pope declared that the Church in Canada was on a new path after being "devastated by the evil perpetrated by some of its sons and daughters" during a nighttime vespers service with priests and nuns in the Quebec City cathedral.
As reported by Reuters, the pope said on the penultimate day of his six-day visit to Canada, "I think in particular of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people, scandals that require firm action and an irreversible commitment. Together with you, I would like once more to ask forgiveness of all the victims. The pain and the shame we feel must become an occasion for conversion: never again!"
More than 150,000 indigenous children were taken away from their families and enrolled in schools between 1870 and 1996. It was the first time the pope had publicly addressed the issue of sexual abuse at schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada dubbed the practice "cultural genocide" because it resulted in the starvation or beating of the kids for speaking their native tongues, as well as the sexual assault of many of them.
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The remarks follow the pope's historic apology on Monday at Maskwacis, the location of two former schools, in which he branded the Church's involvement in the schools and the forced cultural assimilation they tried a "deplorable evil" and "disastrous error." However, despite provoking strong feelings and being praised as the first step in reconciliation, that apology was also criticised by survivors for falling short of their expectations. One of their complaints was that sexual abuse wasn't mentioned.
(with inputs from agencies)