Edmonton archbishop reflects on Pope’s apology to residential school survivors: ‘Words are not the end’

Emotional support or assistance for those who are affected by the residential school system can be found at Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free 1 (800) 721-0066 or 24-hr Crisis Line 1 (866) 925-4419.

Back from the Vatican, Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith is reflecting on Pope Francis’ apology to the survivors of residential schools, and how the Catholic community can support survivors.

“We realize we have a responsibility,” Smith said Monday in Edmonton. “Even though we may not personally have been involved, how do we help in the healing, how do we help move forward?”

The archbishop was part of a delegation of Canadian bishops in Rome to witness the Pope meeting First Nation, Inuit and Metis representatives.

After a week of meetings, Pope Francis told delegates and their supporters he is “ashamed” and “indignant” at all they had endured.

READ: Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous delegates for residential schools

“I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry,” the Pope said through a translator.

“I also feel shame — I’m saying it now and I’m repeating it — sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you.”

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, of which more than 60 per cent were run by the Catholic Church. The state-sponsored schools had the goal of stripping children of their language and culture, with reports of abuse, rape and malnutrition.

It was determined by the Truth and Reconciliation report that the school system amounted to cultural genocide.

For Smith, what’s most important next is relationships formed, and how survivors react to the Pope’s apology.

One of those Alberta survivors, Chief Wilton Littlechild, reacted shortly after the papal apology.

“For me, a message that he said, not only am I sorry, but I am very sorry. And that’s really a blessing,” said Littlechild.

Chief Wilton Littlechild responds to Pope Francis' apology today as a blessing to move forward in reconciliation. #WalkingTogether pic.twitter.com/XFartNLcCG

— Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton (@archedmonton) April 1, 2022

As a Truth and Reconciliation commission, Littlechild gathered testimonies from survivors about residential schools.

“Now we go home and get to work on reconciliation,” Littlehcild told the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton Friday.
The archbishop has connected with Chief Littlechild over the years, collaborating on a video message following the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops residential school.

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• Métis and Inuit delegates meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican
• First Nations need long-term funding for residential school investigations: chief

Smith says it’s these types of relationships on a local level that are key in reconciliations, as Indigenous communities across the country will all have different needs in their path to healing.

“As the Holy Father himself says, words are not the end of this,” said Smith.

The Edmonton archbishop says he’s already heard for Catholics within Edmonton who have shared hope and commitment towards putting in the work in the next steps of reconciliation.

“Even though we may not personally have been involved, we still have received this legacy of pain, and of shame,” he said.

But he also notes it’s a journey individual Catholics are also discovering.

“I don’t think one can help feeling that somehow sharing in that guilt, and the heartache and the heartbrokenness. Many Catholics would say the same, and we realize today we do have a responsibility.”

Although the recent discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools may have added urgency to the need for this visit to Rome, Smith stresses the work began at the end of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015.

Smith is optimistic about the Pope’s pledge to visit Canada to apologize on Indigenous land.

—With files from The Canadian Press.