Pope greets native Canadians, expected to express concern for suffering

Pope greets native Canadians

VATICAN CITY — A group of Canadian aboriginals attended Pope Benedict XVI’s general audience on Wednesday before a private meeting where the pope was expected to express concern about the former policy of forced attendance of Indian children at Christian-run schools.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indian children in Canada were made to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. The aim was to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture, which the government at the time considered inferior to mainstream Canadian society.

Nearly 75 percent of the 130 schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.

The visiting Canadians, some in native headdresses, attended the pope’s general audience and stood up and waved when they were introduced to the crowd of thousands in St. Peter’s Square.

Afterward, they were to meet privately with the pope, who was expected to express his concern for their continued suffering, the Canadian bishops’ conference said in a statement released by the Vatican.

The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recall being beaten for speaking their native languages and losing touch with their parents and customs.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology in Parliament last year, calling the treatment of children at the schools a sad chapter in the country’s history. He said the policy of forced assimilation was wrong, had caused great harm, and had no place in the country.

Canada has also offered compensation, part of a lawsuit settlement between the government, churches and the approximately 90,000 surviving students that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to aboriginal communities.

The Catholic Church alone paid some $79 million, the Canadian bishops said.

The United, Presbyterian and Anglican churches have all apologized for their roles in the abuse.

Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who himself suffered abuse at a residential school, has said that survivors want the pope to acknowledge the role of the Catholic Church in their suffering.

Fontaine, who was in Rome for the audience, has noted that Benedict expressed personal shame over a clergy sex abuse scandal when he visited America and Australia last year and he wants the pontiff to do the same in this case.

In addition to the government apology and compensation, a Canadian truth and reconciliation commission will also examine government policy and take testimony from survivors. The goal is to give survivors a forum to tell their stories and educate Canadians about a grim period in the country’s history.