Responses to Pope's Apology
Below are some responses to the Pope's apology to Indigenous people delivered at the Vatican on April 1.
***
"An apology doesn't mean anything. What we need is
accountability.
There are many priests and nuns who abused children who were in
residential schools, and they're still alive. Are any of them
going to
be prosecuted? Are any of them going to jail? Why can't we have
something like the Nuremberg Trials, some sort of inquest for anyone who was involved in the
mass
graves? The government knew about it. The Church knew about it.
They
just weren't forthcoming about it. So why can't we find out
exactly
what happened?"
- Nakuset, Executive Director of the Native Women's Centre
in
Montreal, Cree from Lac la Ronge, Saskatchewan whose mother
was a
survivor of the Prince Albert Residential School
***
"You can say nice, fancy words because everyone is focused on
an
apology, but it's just empty words. What's needed is more than
an
apology. We're still under the Indian Act. We're still wards of
the
Crown. We're still dealing with murdered and missing Indigenous
women.
We're still dealing with
the child welfare system, with a lack of clean drinking water.
Hold the
churches and government accountable for those unmarked graves.
And hold
accountable all the priests and nuns, those brothers and staff
members
who operated those institutions -- I hate using the word
schools,
because they were
not schools. You need to hold these sexual perpetrators
accountable.
Stop protecting them. The church has to give up these
perpetrators and
they need to be criminally charged."
- Catherine Commanda, Indian Day School Survivor of the
Algonquin Nation
***
"Apologies can be hollow if they're only words. Actions do
speak
louder than words, so that's what I'm hoping for... It cannot
just be,
'I'm sorry, it's too bad some of us did that'... It has to be,
'You
know what? We made money off of taking your land, taking your
resources. And as a result of
that, we've left too many of you without your true identity.
We're
going to make sure that you can get that back.'"
- Chief Jason Henry, Kettle and Stoney Point First Nations
***
"I think that it is very meaningful for the survivors to hear
the
Pope's apology. A part of me was sad for those survivors who
testified
before the Commission who had been waiting for this apology and
sad
that many survivors were not able to hear those words as time
had run
out for them... It
would be important for the Pope to come to Canada so that
survivors can
share their experiences and share their feeling about hearing
those
words... Just as it was important for him to go to South America
and
apologize to the South American Indigenous peoples."
- Justice Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission
***
"Pope Francis' apology leaves us hopeful that there is more
action
on reconciliation to come. We hope this apology will signal more
action
in the future -- including apologies on Canadian soil and the
release
of Residential School records."
- The Native Women's Association of Canada
***
"I don't know if it necessarily brings closure because there
are
still a lot of people who haven't been held accountable for the
actions
that took place at these institutions... There needs to be more
accountability on their end and the releasing of the records for
these
institutions, so that we
can ensure that we have all the documents to properly
acknowledge all
the children that attended these institutions ... because right
now,
that's still a huge hurdle."
- Janice Monture, Executive Director of the Woodlands
Cultural
Centre, housed in the former Mohawk Institute, an Anglican-run
Residential School from 1828-1971
***
"No words can erase the impact of the abuse endured by Inuit
families ... however, this apology is a significant step on the
long
road that leads to reconciliation."
- Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok
***
"The 'healing' narrative puts the work back on the victims. We need to talk about the 'justice' narrative with greater strength -- because that is where apologies find meaning.
"I would like to see the Vatican and Parliament erect public education spaces prominently on their grounds acknowledging what they did and how we can all safeguard against it happening again.
"The victims had to ask the church for the apology and
travelled to
the home of the wrongdoer to get it. It was the same with the
Canadian
government. I honour those who went. I am just sad they had to
go. The
best apology is changed behaviour."
- Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations
Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
***
"This is a historic moment: one filled with both sorrow and
hope.
More than 150,000 children were stolen from their homes and
forced to
attend residential schools between the 1880s and 1996: a number
still
raw to hear in the midst of this apology and the thousands of
unmarked
graves being
discovered."
- Acting Grand Chief Eric Redhead of the Assembly of
Manitoba Chiefs
***
"This moment, I think, reflects the determination and courage
of many that kept up the fight over the years."
- Former Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine
and member of the AFN delegation to the Vatican
***
"Today's apology is a step forward in acknowledging the truth
of our
past. We cannot separate the legacy of the residential school
system
from the institutions that created, maintained, and operated it,
including the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church.
Today's
apology will resurface
strong emotions of hurt and trauma for many. The government will
continue to support Indigenous communities across the country
with the
funding and resources they need to continue to search for
unmarked
burial sites, uncover the truth of what happened at residential
schools, and continue on their
healing journey."
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
***
"An apology is not only symbolic, it has real and concrete
repercussions on how we move forward as a country. It is an
important
step towards accountability, reconciliation, and healing for
families,
survivors and communities who are living the impacts of
discriminatory
policies to this day."
- Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 5 - May 21, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2022/Articles/M520059.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca