Vatican City
AP
Pope Francis has agreed to visit Canada to help ongoing efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous peoples following shocking revelations of the Catholic church’s role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
In a brief statement, the Holy See’s press office said that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has invited the Pope to make an apostolic journey to Canada “also in the context of the long-standing pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.” The statement didn’t cite why the reconciliation process was needed.
In return, Francis “has indicated his willingness to visit the country on a date to be settled in due course,” the statement said.
In this 31st May file photo, shoes sit on the Eternal flame memorial in recognition of the discovery of children’s remains at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, on parliament hill in Ottawa, Ontario. PICTURE: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP/File photo.
The pilgrimage could be the occasion for a papal apology that has been demanded by many in Canada.
POPE FRANCIS, EMERITUS POPE AMONG GROUP GIVEN THIRD DOSE OF COVID-19 VACCINE
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI likely received the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in October, according to official Vatican reports.
A statement sent to Vatican journalists on Wednesday confirmed that “in the second half of October the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of Vatican City began to administer the third dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, giving priority to people over 60 and vulnerable people.”
A top Vatican official stopped short of confirming the two popes were given the booster, but told Religion News Service on Wednesday that it was “inferable” they were among the group administered the third shot.
Pope Francis, 84, and Benedict XVI, 94, are well beyond the age of 60 and both have preexisting health issues. Pope Francis had part of his lung tissue removed as a result of an infection he suffered in his youth, and in mid-July, he was hospitalised for a scheduled colon surgery that kept him in the recovery ward for 11 days.
Francis and Benedict XVI received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in January as the Vatican launched a campaign to promote vaccination among Catholic faithful inside and outside the Vatican City walls. Homeless people and those living in conditions of poverty and marginalisation were welcomed into the Catholic state to get vaccinated in an effort to combat the epidemic.
The Vatican has been actively involved in the efforts at the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization to waive vaccine patents in order to allow research facilities around the globe to manufacture their own vaccines. Members of Catholic organizations have also reached out to the Biden administration to promote the waiver of vaccine patents.
In August, Pope Francis joined bishops in North and South America to encourage faithful and nonfaithful alike to receive the vaccine, calling it “an act of love.” The message was delivered as part of a media campaign by the Ad Council to combat vaccine hesitancy.
“Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” Pope Francis said in the message, adding vaccines must be made available for all through the collaboration of peoples and states.
During Pope Francis’ news conference aboard the papal plane returning from his apostolic visit to Slovakia in mid-September, he seemed puzzled by the wave of scepticism surrounding vaccinations, which he noted have helped humanity overcome measles and polio.
He also mentioned that some cardinals and a small group inside Vatican City remain unvaccinated and that the Vatican was “studying ways to help” such people who are still hesitant. Soon after, on 21st September, the Vatican issued a “green pass” mandate for people wishing to enter the Catholic city-state, using the Italian system requiring proof of vaccination, a recent negative COVID-19 test result or documentation proving recovery from the disease.
Three members of the Swiss Guard, the colorfully clad corps who swear fealty to the popes, resigned in early October rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19.
– CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ/RNS
Francis had already agreed to meet in December with Indigenous survivors of Canada’s notorious residential schools amid calls for a papal apology for the Catholic Church’s role. At that time, the bishops conference said the pontiff had invited the delegations to the Vatican and would meet separately with three groups – First Nations, Metis and Inuit – during their 17th to 20th December visit. The Pope will then preside over a final audience with all three groups on 20th December.
On Wednesday, Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins said that the December encounters will help lay the groundwork for the Canadian pilgrimage. “Over the course of several days, through authentic listening and dialogue, Pope Francis will hear directly from those who have suffered,” said the cardinal in a statement.
Collins said that his country’s bishops had apologised earlier this year as they “sorrowfully acknowledged the historical and ongoing trauma and the legacy of suffering and challenges faced by Indigenous peoples that continue to this day”.
The cardinal added that he was praying the Pope’s visit will allow for healing and dialogue to continue “through authentic encounters of compassion, understanding and reconciliation”.
Earlier this year, investigators in Canada using ground-penetrating radar have reported finding hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of two residential schools for Indigenous children. The discoveries – more than 600 graves in one school, 215 bodies in another – revived calls, including from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for the Pope to make a formal apology.
From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian boarding schools in a campaign to assimilate them into Canadian society. Thousands of children died there of disease and other causes; others never returned to their families.
Nearly three-quarters of the 130 residential schools were run by Roman Catholic missionary congregations. Others were run by the Presbyterian, Anglican and the United Church of Canada, which today is the largest Protestant denomination in the country.
The Canadian Government formally apologised for the policy and abuses in 2008. In addition, the Presbyterian, Anglican and United churches have apologised for their roles in the abuse.
In response to the Vatican’s announcement on Wednesday, Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Relations Mark Miller said he expected from the pontiff “full recognition of the harm caused to the Indigenous peoples”.
“In the grand scheme of what we call reconciliation for Indigenous peoples, that full recognition is something that is long awaited for from the Holy Father himself,” Miller said.
The newly elected head of the Canadian bishops’ conference, Bishop Raymond Poisson, expressed hope that the pope’s visit to Canada “will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing”.
– With ROB GILLIES in Toronto, Canada.
