CANADA
Global News
By Tania Kohut
Senior National Online Journalist, Breaking News Global News
Justin Trudeau has invited Pope Francis to travel to Canada and offer a formal apology for the role of the Catholic Church in the residential school system.
The move, which the prime minister said the Pope seemed open to, would help strengthen the reconciliation process.
“The Catholic Church is unique in the sense that it’s really a global church,” said Reid Locklin, associate professor of Christianity at the University of Toronto.
“There have been lots of apologies issued, but really in terms of who speaks for the Catholic Church ultimately is the Pope.”
More than 150,000 indigenous children attended residential schools over more than 100 years. Sexual and physical abuse were “rampant” at many of the institutions, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report.
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