SASKATOON — The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops expects the scheduled meeting next week between representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Pope Francis to be significant step toward healing and reconciliation.
Representatives from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council will have separate meetings with Pope Francis and will have a final audience with the pontiff to conclude their Vatican trip.
The meeting was originally set for Dec. 17 to 20 last year but was postponed due to the rising cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Organizers delayed the meeting as most of the members of the delegations are elders who are at risk of contracting the virus.
The CCCB told SASKTODAY.ca that Métis and Inuit delegates will meet Pope Francis on March 28 while the First Nations representatives will sit down with the pontiff after a two-day break on March 31.
Almost 30 representatives from the AFN, ITK and MNC along with elders and residential school survivors are part of the delegation that will be accompanied by several members of the CCCB.
The Vatican trip concludes with the official AFN, Inuit and Métis representatives joining a larger Canadian delegation of Indigenous Peoples for a final audience with Pope Francis on April 1, or more than one week before the Catholic Church observes the Holy Week.
“Final preparations are being completed for a group of 32 Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, residential school survivors and youth to meet with the Holy Father,” the CCCB told SASKTODAY.ca in an email.
The CCCB added that each delegation — AFN, Inuit and Métis — especially survivors of the Catholic church-run residential schools, getting the chance to meet Pope Francis on separate days will give them a better chance to discuss the impact and trauma to their communities.
CCCB said they are hopeful about the outcome of the series of talks and meetings by elders, knowledge keepers and residential school survivors with Pope Francis.
“As these dates approach, we are optimistic that the delegation can be a significant milestone in relations between Indigenous people and the Catholic Church,” the CCCB said in the statement.
The meeting, the CCCB added, would help the Holy Father and other Vatican officials address the issue of the involvement of the Catholic church in Canada’s residential school system.
“We expect that these private encounters will allow the Holy Father to meaningfully address both the ongoing trauma and legacy of suffering faced by Indigenous people to this day, as well as the role of the Catholic Church in the residential school system, which contributed to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality,” said the CCCB.
The Catholic religious order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Church Missionary Society of the Anglican Church (Church of England) were the two largest religious organizations that ran residential schools.
“We remain committed to walking toward healing and reconciliation and very much look forward to the opportunity for Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, residential school survivors and youth to meet with Pope Francis.”
Other Indigenous Peoples, mental and health specialists and CCCB support staff will also join the trip where former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild is one of the more than 13 AFN representatives.
Littlechild is expected to present the TRC’s Call to Action No. 58 where the final report is calling for the Pope to issue an apology to the survivors, families, and communities of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children who suffered abuse — cultural, emotional, physical, sexual, and spiritual — during their stay in Catholic-run residential schools.
