Pope Francis sat down and listened to three Métis survivors from ecclesiastical schools tell their stories during his private hearing at the Vatican with the first of three indigenous delegations on Monday.
“It was a very comfortable meeting,” said Cassidy Caron, president of the Métis National Council.
“Our survivors did an incredible job at this meeting, got up and told their truths. They were so brave and so courageous, and we wanted to make sure we raised their voices, and that is exactly what we did today.”
The pope did not apologize for abusing the government-sponsored catholic schools for Indigenous children throughout Canada from the 1870s to 1997. He did, however, speak of “truth, justice and healing,” he said. Caron.
“I consider it a personal commitment,” he said.
Two violinists lead the Métis delegation from a one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday. March 28, 2022. (Gregorio Borgia / AP)
The pope also reiterated his promise to travel to Canada at some point and meet with survivors, Caron said. No date has been set for this visit yet.
The meeting took place in the Pope’s private library at the Apostolic Palace. It is the room where Pope Francis had a one-on-one meeting in 2017 with Prime Minister Justin Trinto – who at the time asked the Pope to apologize at a home school.
Caron said the delegates were sitting in a semicircle, with five Canadian Roman Catholic bishops on one side, representatives of the Métis on the other and the Pope in the middle.
He said it took Pope Francis about 10 minutes to speak to the delegates with the help of a translator. He said he could see the sadness on his face when he heard the stories of school survivors and children missing from institutions.
CLOCKS The president of the National Council of Métis, Cassidy Caron, describes the meeting with the Pope:
The leader of Métis describes a “comfortable” meeting with the Pope
Metis National Council President Cassidy Caron said Pope Francis spoke of “truth, justice and healing” during a meeting with Metis survivors from home schools. The Métis delegation was the first of three indigenous delegations in Rome to meet with the pope. 3:17
Métis Nation of Alberta, Senior Angie Crerar, who was one of the survivors at Monday’s meeting, said the meeting helped ease the pain of her school experience.
“Today was one of the most wonderful days I have ever had in my life,” Crear said. “I even got a hug.”
However, the 85-year-old said that she will not have the feeling of closure until more of the children who are ignored by residential schools are found.
“We want to bring our children home,” Crear said. “Then I will celebrate right there.”
The meetings are part of a series of papal audiences in Rome this week to discuss the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the operation of most residential schools in Canada and how the church can try to make up for it.
Crerar spoke to CBC before the meeting and said her childhood memories were flooded as she began her journey to Rome.
“Very excited, very humble, so very grateful,” she said before the hour-long meeting.
Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron hugs Crerar, a school’s survivor who is part of the Métis delegation. The Métis delegation is the first of three indigenous delegations, along with First Nations and Inuit people, to be scheduled for a hearing with the Pope this week. (Cassidy Caron / Provided)
On the way to Rome, Crerar wore a deep blue jacket and a red Métis leaf representing the blood that Métis shed in the fight for his rights.
While waiting to leave Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Crerar remembered what helped her survive almost a decade at school.
“Although they tried to change us, to say that our family was not good; my mom and dad taught us kindness, love, respect,” Crear said.
CLOCKS Senior Metis describes her experience at school:
Senior Metis describes what she endured at school before meeting the Pope
The Métis Nation of Alberta, the elder Angie Crerar remembers what helped her survive for almost 10 years at the Roman Catholic School of St. Joseph in Fort Resolution, NWT 1:17
Crear said she called on Pope Francis to apologize and help locate children missing from home schools.
“These children have the right to a name and an identity,” Crear said.
Require access to all archives of churches and residential schools
Caron, meanwhile, has pushed for unrestricted access to church and residential school records. “Naming children is incredibly important in our people’s healing journey,” he said. During a post-meeting press conference, Canadian Catholic bishops said there were no such documents in the Vatican. But religious entities have records in Rome and Canada. Oblates extends access to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation. CLOCKS The importance of the Pope’s meeting with indigenous representatives:
What could the Pope’s meeting with the indigenous communities mean for reconciliation?
Indigenous representatives are meeting with Pope Francis in the hope that he will pledge an official apology for the Catholic Church’s role in running residential schools in Canada. Here’s why it matters and how things could change. 1:17
Caron also called on the church to pay more compensation to the survivors, citing the $ 30 million pledged by Canadian bishops.
“There should be no doubt because these funds have not yet been paid to our people,” he said.
Krarar said she would never forget the day in 1946 when she became not only a home school student but also the mother of two younger sisters aged five and three.
The RCMP took her and her siblings on a plane off Yellowknife after her mother died of tuberculosis.
“I have a lot of scars,” Krarar said. “Wear [them] with pride. “
A longtime friend who supports the elder’s visit to Rome
Krear spent nine years at the Roman Catholic School of St. Joseph at Fort Resolution, NWT, ages eight to 17.
Audrey Poitras, a longtime friend of Crerar and president of the Alberta Métis nation, sat with her hand on Gate 60 on Sunday.
Poitras telephoned Crear last October to tell her that he had been selected by the Nation to join his main delegation to the Vatican.
“She [Crerar] he told me, “I will go with you,” said Poitras. I said, “I will not go,” and she said, “Well, I will go with you.”
Métis Nation of Alberta president Audrey Poitras, left, backs Elder Angie Crerar during her trip to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis this week to discuss the role of the Roman Catholic Church in housing schools in Canada. . (Olivia Stefanovic / CBC)
Poitras watched some of this week’s meetings from a screen in a nearby room and will attend the pope’s final audience on Friday. This audience will be public and will include members of all Métis, First Nations and Inuit missions, along with their family members and supporters.
In 2004, Poitras said that Crear pushed her to collect stories about survivors from Métis school because she felt it was time to tell them.
The book Métis Memories of Residential Schools contains the stories of 24 surviving Métis schools, including Crerar.
“I’m really happy to be able to go with her and share with her another part of her journey,” Poitras said.
“He is the person I care about.”
Support is available to anyone affected by their home school experience or recent reports.
A national crisis line has been set up for residential schools in India to provide support to alumni and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis hotline: 1-866-925-4419.