When Pope Francis visited Canada in July 2022, he consciously and intentionally began a journey into the complex and disturbing relationship between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples.
Articles on Papal apology
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Visiting Indigenous people on their land was a step in the right direction, but the pope’s visit was full of tensions over both what was said and what wasn’t.
Residential schools and the papal bulls justifying the doctrine of discovery call out for concrete acts of atonement and reparation on the part of the church.
It is reasonable to expect that any apology from the Pope will be met with mixed responses.
Pope Francis and the Catholic Church must make a plan with Indigenous Peoples, not for us, in order to walk the path of reconciliation. Some initial suggestions of what a plan might include.
As a theologian who studies church apologies for historical wrongs, I understand why the Pope was moved to speak this week, but I hope this was not his definitive apology.
It is worth considering whether efforts to enlist the church in reconciliation have been helped or hindered by how settlers think about early written records.
A papal apology, if done in ‘a good way,’ could help remove barriers to transforming harmful relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, Theological Studies, Concordia University
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Professor Emeritus, HIstory Department and School of Public and International Affairs, York University, Canada
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Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream; June Callwood Professor of Social Justice; Special Advisor on Indigenous Initiatives, Victoria University, University of Toronto
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Assistant Professor, Sociology Department, University of Lethbridge
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Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo
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Professor and Department Head, Department of Religion and Culture, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan
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Associate Professor of French, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta