Pope's apology not enough for abuses of Indigenous kids, Canadian govt says more needed to be done to atone

Pope Francis recently apologised for the abuses inflicted on the Indigenous peoplesof Canada. But the Canadian government has made one thing clear, that the plea for forgiveness is far from enough. The government has also suggested that reconciliation of the distressing history is still a work in progress.

During his historic tour of Canada, the 85-year-old pontiff is seeking forgiveness for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools. These notorious schools are accused of carrying out government policies aimed at assimilating natives by trying to erase their cultures.

Pope Francis arrived in Quebec City to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon at her Quebec residence. The official government reaction came after that.

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Trudeau insisted that the Catholic Church as an institution is to be blamed for the atrocities and needed to do more to atone. He said, "Apologies for the role that the Roman Catholic Church, as an institution, played in the mistreatment of the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that Indigenous children suffered in residential schools run by the church."

The Canadian PM implied that much more needed to be done by the church. He also said that Francis' visit had "an enormous impact" on survivors, it was but a first step.

As quoted by news agency AP, Phil Fontaine, who is a survivor of sexual abuse at the schools and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Wednesday that the additional reference to "local Catholic institutions" went beyond Francis' original apology.

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Fontaine said in a statement, "It reflects the reality that the Catholic Church in Canada is not one institution. It is made up of about 73 different legal institutions, all of which were defendants in the lawsuits."

It is saidthat more than 150,000 native children in Canada were taken from their homes from the 19th century until the 1970s.

The final report ofNational Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was concluded in 2019, it was found that the Canadian state has perpetrated genocide against Indigenous peoples.

It was said that this genocide is the underlying cause of the contemporary murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls.

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