In Canada, First Nations people oscillate between hope and skepticism in the face of the arrival of Pope Francis. The leader of the Catholics comes to ask forgiveness for the abuse they have suffered because of the Church.
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In recent days in Canada, many indigenous families have come on pilgrimage to the basic Sainte-Anne, near Quebec, a saint considered the patroness of this community. On Thursday, July 28, Pope Francis will hold a mass there, and it will be an opportunity for him to apologize for the abuses that the Church has inflicted on the First Nations, the name given to all indigenous peoples. across the Atlantic.
The leader of the Catholics will arrive in Canada on Sunday for a five-day visit. The sovereign pontiff first travels to the west of the country before spending two days in Quebec City, then in the Far North among the Inuit. This visit is an outstretched hand to hundreds of thousands of indigenous people who have suffered from forced schooling in religious boarding schools for 150 years where they have suffered numerous abuses. During the summer of 2021, the remains of several hundred people were found in mass graves linked to these Catholic institutes.
So, among First Nations people, expectations are high. “I hope that this forgiveness, this reconciliation will spread in our communitiesdescribes Yvette Vachon, of the Innu nation. The natives will take up a lot more space, it will bring about a change, a big change.“For another believer, this apology will have almost a therapeutic role for the victims: “It will help a lot of those people who were in residential school, to try to forget.“
But Suzanne is more skeptical: “I have a little reluctance. I don’t know if it’s sincere.” Like this Innu, part of the Aboriginal community doubts the effectiveness of this request for forgiveness from the head of the Church, because it comes very late for the victims.
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