Am I Wrong?

 

 

 

When offering an apology for one’s past actions or misdeeds, ending the apology with the word “but,” (either spoken or implied), totally brings the sincerity of the apology into question. Such was the case this week when Pope Francis offered an apology to the Indigenous people of Canada.

 

While stating over and over how sorry he was for the suffering and traumatization of Canada’s Indigenous people caused by the residential school system, under which thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their homes and separated from their families, language and culture, Francis apparently felt it necessary to put in that “but.”

 

“Many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples,” he said. “Many members of the church and of religious communities co-operated . . . in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time.”

 

In other words, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t just us.

 

Francis was invited to Canada to apologize for the Roman Catholic church’s role in the running of the residential schools and for all the abuses suffered by the children forced to attend. Instead, by claiming that others also bore responsibility, he watered down the apology with an excuse.

 

He then went on to say “an important part of this process will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past.” Didn’t we already have that investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Isn’t that what brought us to where we are today?

 

If Francis really wants “a serious investigation into the facts,” why hasn’t he ordered various Catholic orders to turn over their records relating to the residential schools? As St. Anne’s residential school survivor Evelyn Korkmaz noted after Francis’ speech: “There was no mention in his apology of releasing the documents that we desperately need across Canada.”

 

Korkmaz said the records “hold where these lost souls were buried. These documents hold the identification of these children, it would give their families, loved ones, closure. They belong here in Canada. They belong to us. This is our history; they don’t belong in Rome.”

 

She added that she has waited 50 years to hear the apology but “I want more because 50 years is too long to wait for an apology.”

 

In addition, apart from the records, why have so many priests who have been accused of sexual and physical abuse of children been moved around from parish to parish by the church to protect them? And why there was absolutely no mention of such sexual and physical abuse in the Pope’s speech. Yes, he referred to the residential school system as “evil,” but that word means nothing without context. Whether or not you buy the excuse that the church was simply following the policies of the government in power, that simply is not acceptable in the case of sexual and physical abuse. And keep in mind that this is not some event that took place way back in history: the last residential school didn’t close until the 1990s.

 

If you think this papal visit is going to bring about a greater understanding of the Indigenous peoples and the way they have been (and are being) treated, think again. On social media, the comments sections of various news reports on the Pope’s apology have been awash with vitriolic, racial slurs against the Indigenous population. On an almost daily basis, we hear of some Indigenous person being discriminated against or treated unfairly. And Indigenous girls and women still go missing regularly.

 

Finally, I find it difficult to understand how the Indigenous population can believe the words of a patriarchal white man when such men have lied and broken treaties and promises time and time again. So, I would say to Pope Francis: I’m sorry, but . . .

 

Tell me, am I wrong?