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A30 world news
Diasabra 2 aPriL 2022

Pope makes historic Indigenous apology for Canada abuses

homes and culture. The aim The trip to Rome by the In- been waiting for. And cer-
was to Christianize and as- digenous leaders, elders and tainly one that will be uplifted Even before the grave sites
similate them into main- survivors was years in the in our history,” he said. “It’s a were discovered, Canada’s
stream society, which previ- making but gained momen- historical first step, however, Truth and Reconciliation
ous Canadian governments tum last year after the dis- only a first step.” Commission specifically
considered superior. covery of hundreds of un- called for a papal apology to
marked graves outside some He and other delegates said be delivered on Canadian soil
The Canadian government of the residential schools in there was far more for the for the church’s role in the
has admitted that physical Canada. The three groups church to do on the path of abuses.
and sexual abuse was ram- met separately with Francis reconciliation, but that for
(AP) — Pope Francis on pant at the schools, with over several hours this week, now Indigenous leaders in- In addition, as part of a set-
Friday made a historic students beaten for speaking telling him their stories, cul- sisted on being involved in tlement of a lawsuit involv-
apology to Indigenous their native languages. That minating with Friday’s audi- organizing the papal visit to ing the Canadian govern-
peoples for the “deplor- legacy of that abuse and iso- ence. make sure Francis stops in ment, churches and the ap-
able” abuses they suffered lation from family has been places that hold spiritual im- proximately 90,000 surviv-
in Canada’s Catholic-run cited by Indigenous leaders The president of the Metis portance to their people. ing students, Canada paid
residential schools and as a root cause of the epidem- National Council, Cassidy reparations that amounted
said he hoped to visit Can- ic rates of alcohol and drug Caron, said the Metis elder Natan Obed, president of to billions of dollars being
ada in late July to deliver addiction now on Canadian sitting next her burst into the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, transferred to Indigenous
the apology in person to reservations. tears upon hearing what she thanked Francis for address- communities. The Catholic
survivors of the church’s said was a long-overdue apol- ing all the issues the Indige- Church, for its part, has paid
misguided missionary After hearing their stories all ogy. nous delegations had brought over $50 million and now
zeal. week, Francis told the Indig- to him. “And he did so in a intends to add $30 million
enous groups that the colo- “The pope’s words today way that really showed his more over the next five years.
Francis begged forgiveness nial project ripped children were historic, to be sure. empathy towards the Indig-
during an audience with doz- from their families, cutting They were necessary, and enous people of Canada,” he Canadian Prime Minister
ens of members of the Metis, off their roots, traditions and I appreciate them deeply,” said. Justin Trudeau, meanwhile,
Inuit and First Nations com- culture and provoking inter- Caron told reporters in St. acknowledged Francis’ apol-
munities who came to Rome generational trauma that is Peter’s Square. “And I now Nearly three-quarters of ogy and said he looked for-
seeking a papal apology and a still being felt today. He said look forward to the pope’s Canada’s 130 residential ward to having him deliver it
commitment from the Cath- it was a “counter-witness” to visit to Canada, where he can schools were run by Catholic in person in Canada.
olic Church to repair the the same Gospel that the res- offer those sincere words of missionary congregations.
damage. The first pope from idential school system pur- apology directly to our sur- “This apology would not
the Americas said he hoped ported to uphold. vivors and their families, Last May, the Tk’emlups have happened without the
to visit Canada around the whose acceptance and heal- te Secwepemc Nation an- long advocacy of survivors
Feast of St. Anna, which falls “For the deplorable conduct ing ultimately matters most.” nounced the discovery of 215 who journeyed to tell their
on July 26. of those members of the gravesites near Kamloops, truths directly to the insti-
Catholic Church, I ask for- First Nations’ Chief Gerald British Columbia, that were tution responsible and who
More than 150,000 native giveness of the Lord,” Fran- Antoine echoed the senti- found using ground-pene- recounted and relived their
children in Canada were cis said. “And I want to tell ment, saying Francis recog- trating radar. It was Canada’s painful memories,” he said.
forced to attend state-funded you from my heart, that I am nized the cultural “genocide” largest Indigenous residen- “Today’s apology is a step
Christian schools from the greatly pained. And I unite that had been inflicted on In- tial school and the discovery forward in acknowledging
19th century until the 1970s myself with the Canadian digenous peoples. of the graves was the first of the truth of our past in order
in an effort to isolate them bishops in apologizing.” numerous, similar grim sites to right historical wrongs, but
from the influence of their “Today is a day that we’ve across the country. there is still work to be done.”

Talks resume as Ukraine denies hitting depot on Russian soil

(AP) — Talks to stop the ing table. curity guarantees from sev- an operation to bring civil- small amounts, into the city.”
fighting in Ukraine re- eral other countries. ians out of Mariupol by bus.
sumed Friday, as another While the Russians kept up It said a team had been on its Around 100,000 people are
desperate attempt to res- their bombardment of those The invasion has left thou- way but had to turn back. believed left in the city, down
cue civilians from the en- two zones, Ukrainian troops sands dead and driven more from a prewar 430,000, and
circled city of Mariupol exploited the pullback on than 4 million refugees from City authorities said the Rus- weeks of Russian bombard-
failed and the Kremlin the ground by mounting Ukraine. sians were blocking access to ment and street fighting have
accused the Ukrainians counterattacks and retaking Mariupol. caused severe shortages of
of launching a helicopter a number of towns and vil- Mariupol, the shattered and water, food, fuel and medi-
attack on a fuel depot on lages. besieged southern port city, He said Russian forces “are cine.
Russian soil. has seen some of the worst categorically not allowing any
Still, Ukraine and its allies suffering of the war. Its cap- humanitarian cargo, even in
Ukraine denied responsi- warned that the Kremlin is ture would be a major prize
bility for the fiery blast, but not de-escalating but resup- for Russian President Vladi-
if Moscow’s claim is con- plying and shifting its troops mir Putin, giving his country
firmed, it would be the war’s to the country’s east for an in- an unbroken land bridge to
first known attack in which tensified assault on the most- Crimea, seized from Ukraine
Ukrainian aircraft penetrated ly Russian-speaking Donbas in 2014.
Russian airspace. region in the country’s east,
which includes Mariupol. Mariupol’s fate could deter-
Meanwhile, Russia contin- mine the course of the nego-
ued withdrawing some of The latest negotiations took tiations to end the war, said
its ground forces from ar- place by video. At a round Volodymyr Fesenko, head
eas around Kyiv after saying of talks earlier in the week, of the Ukrainian think tank
earlier this week it would Ukraine said it would be Penta.
reduce military activity near willing to abandon a bid to
the Ukrainian capital and the join NATO and declare itself On Friday, the International
northern city of Chernihiv to neutral — Moscow’s chief Committee for the Red Cross
promote trust at the bargain- demand — in return for se- said it was unable to carry out