The pope took everyone by surprise on the flight back to the Vatican after a six-day stay in Canada. For the first time, he acknowledged that Indigenous peoples had suffered genocide as children were uprooted from their families and culture in the religious boarding schools that existed for more than a century. This declaration has satisfied several indigenous representatives while others expect more concrete gestures from the Church.
With our correspondent in Montreal, Pascale Guericolas
“ Better late than never… Stanley Vollant, from the Innu community, says he is satisfied that the Pope has finally used the word genocide. According to this organizer of a long march in which survivors of residential schools took part, pope francis was struck by the stories he heard during his stay. “ He saw a lot of people. I think there was a progression of his thinking during the week. He walked. The important thing is that the aggressor recognizes his wrong and that he makes an act of reparation. The act of reparation, we do not see it yet, it is still to come and to discover “, he assures.
Other First Nations people would have preferred the pope to speak of genocide while he was still in Canada. Some also wonder why he does not speak of crimes when he recognizes the sexual abuse committed by certain religious.
One thing is certain, everyone expects the Church to undertake concrete actions of reconciliation with the natives.
►Also read: Canada: the Pope recognizes a “genocide” in the tragedy of residential schools for natives