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Pope Visits Canada on ‘Penitential Pilgrimage’

#Pope #Visits #Canada #Penitential #Pilgrimage

Pope Francis departs on Sunday for a historic six-day visit to Canada, where he is expected to seek forgiveness from Indigenous survivors of abuses committed at Catholic Church-run boarding schools.

The “Pilgrimage of Penance”, as the Pope described it, is considered an important step in dealing with the global scandal surrounding the sexual abuse of children by clerics and the decades-long cover-up.

It has long been awaited by Canada’s indigenous communities.

Pope Francis will begin his 37th international journey since his pontificate in Edmonton in the western province of Alberta before traveling to Quebec City and then Iqaluit, Canada’s northernmost city.

He plans to repeat an apology delivered to Canadian delegations visiting the Vatican in April, which he then said would “hopefully add to the journey of healing and reconciliation already being undertaken.”

The discovery since last year of hundreds of remains of Indigenous children in unmarked graves on the grounds of state schools run by the Catholic Church has forced Canada to face its failed policy of forced assimilation.

Similarly, it has spotlighted the church’s role in what a national truth and reconciliation commission has dubbed “cultural genocide.”

About 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were enrolled in 139 boarding schools from the late 1800s through the 1990s, where they spent months or years isolated from their families, language and culture.

Many have been physically and sexually abused by school principals and teachers.

Thousands are said to have died from disease, malnutrition or neglect. More than 1,300 unmarked graves have been discovered at the sites of the former schools since May 2021.

– ‘Years of Trauma’ –

Francis begins the trip Monday with a stop in the town of Maskwacis, about 100 kilometers (160 miles) south of Edmonton, home of one of Canada’s largest boarding schools.

He will address an expected crowd of around 15,000 people, including alumni from across Canada.

Although some have expressed excitement at the Pope’s willingness to meet them, others question whether the brief visit can heal wounds.

“A lot of people will be disappointed in the time that has been given to them because it’s years of trauma,” Ermineskin Cree Nation leader Randy Ermineskin said during a news conference last month.

“Because he’ll apologize, then he’ll leave and you’ll hold the bag. Who will take care of these people?”

On Tuesday, the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics will celebrate Mass at a 60,000-seat stadium in Edmonton before heading northwest to Lac Sainte Anne, site of a major annual pilgrimage.

He then travels to Quebec City where he will meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, a national shrine that attracts over a million pilgrims each year.

On Friday, the pope will travel to Iqaluit, home to the largest number of Inuit people in the country, where he will meet with former boarders before returning to Rome.

– Artifacts back? –

It remains to be seen whether the pope, in a goodwill gesture, will return indigenous artifacts currently in the Vatican Museums.

Indigenous groups say these culturally valuable objects should be returned to their communities, despite Vatican claims that they have been gifted to popes in recent years.

During his journey, Francis will cover 20,000 kilometers despite suffering from right knee pain that has forced him to rely on a cane or a wheelchair in recent months.

In June, the Vatican indefinitely postponed a visit to Africa scheduled for July.

Francis is the second Pope to visit Canada after John Paul II, who visited Canada three times (1984, 1987 and 2002).

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#Pope #Visits #Canada #Penitential #Pilgrimage

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