CANADA
CBC News
By Susana Mas, CBC News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will seek a formal apology from Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools, a day after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission made public its final report into the legacy of the schools.
The commission has called upon the Pope to apologize to residential school survivors and their families for the Catholic Church’s role “in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools.”
Trudeau met with the leaders of five national aboriginal organizations in Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss the findings of the commission.
Asked if he would urge the Pope to apologize, Trudeau said “different churches, including the Catholic Church, are very much engaged with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and I am certainly intending to work with the Catholic Church, including with the Holy See, to move forward with implementing that recommendation — to ask him directly to engage with this issue, yes.”
Trudeau said while he could not guarantee the Pope would issue an apology, he was prepared to have that conversation with him, given the opportunity.
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