Pope Francis’ trip to Canada will include visits to Edmonton and Quebec City, and will run from July 24 to 30,
A papal trip to Iqaluit has been heavily rumoured for weeks, after a delegation of Indigenous leaders made a trek to the Vatican in late March to seek an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in abuse that occurred in Canada’s residential school system.
The Pope made that apology on April 1.
The stated aim of the schools, which operated between 1831 and 1996, was to assimilate indigenous children. Over that period about 150,000 children were taken from their homes and many were subjected to abuse, rape and malnutrition in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called “cultural genocide.”
Christian denominations, predominantly the Catholic Church, ran the schools on behalf of the government.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said an in-person apology was “important – and necessary,” adding that the pope’s trip would not be possible “without the bravery and determination of the survivors, indigenous leaders, and youth who shared their stories.”
Elsewhere » National Observer / Global News
Post updated to include Reuters info.