Hi!
So, in case you are not aware, the Catholic Church has a horrific, ugly history with the Indigenous People of Canada. I'm sure it was the same, or at least similar, in other Colonized nations, but the Canadian history is what I am most familiar with, so it will be that history that will be the focus of these ramblings.
Now, let me be clear, I am by no means a history expert, nor do I claim to be anything even remotely close to one.
I am a Canadian of Scottish/German descent, about as white as a person can get. I also grew up in the Catholic Church.
I don't have a PhD, or a degree in history or political science. All I have are eyes, ears, and an empathetic heart. I will never be able to truly understand the abuse the children, parents, families, hell, the entire cultures of these incredible people have suffered, but what I can do, is believe, empathize, and learn from their stories.
I can only imagine the conflicted feelings the Pope's visit/apology tour must stir up for the survivors of these residential "schools" and their families.
I've been watching the coverage on the news. I'm well aware that I have no real right to be, but still, the apologies that have come from the Pope, though a good baby step, fall very short.
From what I've been able to find out, the Pope has tried to put forth that the Church was but following the lead of the Government when creating and running these facilities when history tells us it was the other way around.
He has continued to refer to these facilities as "schools" instead of the concentration camps they actually were.
He has continued to dance around the true intention behind these camps. Continuing the fairy tale that they thought they were doing what was best for the people of Indigenous cultures, instead of telling the truth, which was they were trying to stomp out the cultures altogether. When they met resistance, they forced it. It was absolutely attempted genocide.
Thankfully, though battered and bruised, beaten beyond recognition, the strength of our First Nations people hung on. But, after generations of abuse and outright murder, the pain and damage such abuse inflicts, create scars that continue to run very deep. So deep, they are felt in the core of the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who suffered it firsthand.
Like I said, I'm no expert, but I am a human with eyes, ears, and an empathetic heart. I can't feel the pain, but I can understand it, and try to learn from it, and from that learning, carry compassion.
The Church needs to do more than spew words. Words without action are hollow. Words without accepting their true ownership are less than hollow. Meaningless. First Nation leaders have asked, and continue to ask for the records that will tell them who worked in these "schools", when, and where. They have a right to that information. Those who participated in these atrocities need to be named and held accountable. Even if they have passed away, their memories and their legacies need to carry the weight of their hideous acts. The survivors have to bear that weight, and so should they.
Reparations need to be paid. The Church should have to pay for every single bit of work that healing will take, for as long as it takes. The Church needs to make life as good as it possibly can be for the victims of their crimes. The Church needs to be held truly accountable. Not just accountability for the cameras, or for the news bytes, but actual, real, accountability, both as an entity and as individuals.
And please, let's not pretend that abuses and biases don't still run rampant. All you have to do is look at the stats about missing and murdered indigenous women compared to the general public. Look at the stats in the foster system, and the criminal justice system. Watch the faces of certain people when the subject of First Nations abuse comes up. The eye rolls and side-eye tell you everything you need to know.
Yes, the Pope's apology tour is a good, first, baby, step. But, as far as even I'm concerned, that's all it is. I sit in the full privilege of my heritage as I understand that, as I feel that. I can only imagine what it must feel like for the people who actually matter.
I hope this tour by the Pope is the step it's expected to be. I hope this isn't the Church simply saying the words and then washing their hand of any real accountability. I mean it's not like they don't have a reputation for doing just that. They have a history of covering up horrific acts, shifting pedophiles around the world like a sadistic game of whack-a-mole, just as an example.
So, if people are skeptical of the Pope's words... of course they are. Our First Nations people have every possible reason to not trust what comes out of a white man's mouth. History has shown them how untrustworthy we can be, they would be fools to believe without substance.
Personally, I no longer consider myself a Catholic. The Church has shown who it was, who it is, and who it intends to be. I believe it.
My greatest hope is that at some point the Church will accept full responsibility for everything horrible it has done. All of it. Then, just maybe, true healing can begin.
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I am not you, but I feel for you.
I don't carry the weight of your pain, I don't live with the scars with which you live.
I can only imagine the depth of the hurt, the crushing burden forced upon your shoulders.
I can only learn, believe, and walk behind you, in your healing journey.
I am not you, but I feel for you.
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