'I'm very disappointed in the Pope,' Daniel Paul says of pontiff's failure to apologize for Catholic church's role
There is a call for Pope Francis to issue an apology after the discovery of the bodies of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in British Columbia.
The discovery has many now calling for surveys of other residential schools across the country.
Theresa Grineault was overcome with emotion as she stood before a memorial dedicated to 215 Indigenous children whose remains were discovered at an unmarked burial site at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
"Those kids are never going to come home," Grineault said. "Never."
The Indian residential school settlement agreement identified 139 residential schools across Canada, including one in Shubenacadie, N.S. In total, it's thought about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children attended these schools.
Doreen Bernard is a survivor. She's been touched by the outpouring of support, but she wants the federal government to look into the possibility of more graves at sites other than Kamloops.
"We talk about truth and reconciliation yet the truth hasn't come out," Bernard said. "It is still being uncovered."
Archbishop Brian Dunn of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth released a statement saying the discovery of the unmarked burial site in Kamloops is heartbreaking and vows to work toward reconciliation, healing and peace.
"Acknowledging and bringing to light this dark chapter of our Catholic and Canadian history is difficult but necessary in order to be able to do and be better," Dunn wrote.
Daniel Paul doesn't doubt the sincerity of Dunn's statement, but says the real apology needs to come from the Vatican.
"Their main purpose was to take the Indian out of the Indian," Paul said. "I'm very disappointed in the Pope, that he doesn't come forward at this point in time and do what the other Christian denominations have done and make a full apology."
It would be a small step forward in what will be a long healing process.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.