More than 50 Catholic orders that ran many of
Canada’s residential schools were allowed to walk away from their
commitment to compensate First Nations communities for the damage the
schools caused, but some say they have a ‘moral obligation’ to
reconcile.
GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA —
The National Chief of the Assembly of
First Nations says he will urge the Pope to press Catholic groups that
ran Canada’s Indian residential schools to renew their efforts to raise
money for healing programs that he says could provide real help to those
who were abused.
Perry Bellegarde has
been trying for some time to arrange a meeting with the Pope to ask for
an apology for the church’s role in what happened at the schools, and
also for a repudiation of the church’s 1493 papal bull and its “doctrine
of discovery,” which gave Christian explorers the right to claim any
lands they found that weren’t inhabited by Christians.
“So this is a third reason, because
there’s a moral obligation on behalf of the church to do what’s right,”
Mr. Bellegarde said this week of the failed fundraising bid. “I am going
to be writing to Pope Francis and asking him to rectify this matter.”...http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/afn-chief-to-urge-pope-to-rectify-churchs-role-in-residential-schools/article29737393/
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