While most are choosing to accept the Pope’s apology, most Indigenous leaders are calling for more action to put meaning behind his words.
On Monday, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in the Residential School tragedy on Canadian soil for the first time.
In doing so, he fulfilled a major request of an Indigenous delegation which visited the Vatican in April, but left many other unanswered.
BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee says the Pope’s apology will become sincere when he rescinds the Doctrine of Discovery, and denounces Terra Nullius.
Rescinding the Doctrine, which gave European settlers legal claims over Indigenous lands, was another major ask of the April delegation.
Gitxsan Indigenous rights activist Cindy Blackstock echoed that request as one of 8 actions on a post-apology Papal to-do list.
Among other actions on the list are: an independent review into the Church’s Residential School records, repatriation of Indigenous lands, artifacts and records, and the reformation of Catholic teachings which interfere with Indigenous rights.
Blackstock, and many others, were also critical of the apology’s failure to take responsibility for the Church’s institutional role in the tragedy, choosing instead to place blame on individual members.
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