During both hour-long meetings, the Pope intended to “listen and leave room for the painful stories brought by the survivors,” the Vatican said in a statement. The meetings took place after the discovery of hundreds of insignificant graves last year in former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada reported that more than 4,000 Native children died either from neglect or from abuse in residential schools, many of which were administered by the Catholic Church. Last year, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops apologized for its role in the school housing system and expressed “deep remorse,” but indigenous leaders have long apologized to the Pope. “We know that reconciliation is a long journey and will require the commitment and action of so many people. It will take action from the churches, the parishioners, the Canadian Conference of Bishops – the Catholic Church as a whole and the Pope.” Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron told reporters after Monday’s meeting. “Reconciliation did not start today with a meeting with Pope Francis and it does not end here either. This is just a stepping stone to this journey,” Caron added. In addition to their apology, Natan Obed, President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said the delegation asked the Pope to consider whether the church should also use its resources to assist in work related to the discovery. insignificant graves on residential school properties. “A lot of what happened in home schools happened to people who are no longer alive, but that does not always happen. And there are still things we can do together to ensure that there is justice for those who do not yet have it,” he said. Obed to journalists. Martha Greig, a school survivor who was a member of the Inuit delegation, said she told the Pope she would like to travel to Canada to apologize “sincerely” because there are so many families to heal and move on. “ “As a former home school student, that would mean a lot to me, but more so to my fellow former students. Many of them are now dead, but their children are also affected,” Greig told reporters. The groups thanked the Pope for his time, Obed said, adding “there was also a real sense of openness and kindness shown to us as a delegation.” The Vatican said many more meetings with the Canadian delegations would take place this week. Earlier this month, Kapawe’no First Nation announced the discovery of 169 possible unmarked tombs at the former St. Louis Mission School. Bernard at the Grouard mission site. The possible graves were located using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and drone images, officials said. The Catholic Church opened the Mission School of St. Bernard in 1894 and closed in 1961, according to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation of Canada. CNN’s Hada Messia contributed to this report.
