Church wants balanced story of residential schools

Bishops, religious orders will promote Reconciliation Commission

photo-credit An aboriginal girl participates in a March 2 event in Ottawa, promoting the work of the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

Catholic bishops and the leaders of religious orders will help to promote the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools.

But they are doing it with a concern that the commission not only tell the stories of Aboriginal people who suffered in the schools, but also those of the men and women religious who made great sacrifices while working in the schools for decades.

Remembering the Children, the Aboriginal and Church Leaders' Tour kicked off in Ottawa March 2 to raise awareness of the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The launch began with a Sunday ecumenical service inside the Grand Hall of the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, that brought together Aboriginal leaders and leaders of the Anglican, United, and Presbyterian churches.

Though Catholic participation was uncertain until less than a month before the tour launch, Catholic bishops and representatives of religious orders that ran schools have decided to take part.

At a January news conference, Archbishop Sylvain Lavoie of Keewatin-The Pas, Man., said there were "a lot of good intentions" at the schools, run by churches and maintained by the federal government between 1870 and 1996.

Flawed system

"Sometimes the very people staffing the schools were perhaps in some ways victims themselves of a flawed system, of unreal expectations and certainly perhaps very unjust working hours," Lavoie said.

"I think we'll be able to tell the full story, which I think Canada needs to hear," he said of the commission.

Lavoie said, "Certainly, mistakes were made, and we're open to acknowledging that and being responsible but, most of all, we're hoping the story is . . . balanced."

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, part of the $2.2-billion Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, will begin hearing testimony sometime this year from victims of sexual and physical abuse at the schools run by various churches, including more than 40 Catholic dioceses and religious orders. The Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches also ran schools and were part of the settlement.

At the March 2 kickoff event, Anglican, Presbyterian and United church representatives apologized for their churches' roles in the schools.

"As churches in Canada we acknowledge and confess our failures in the Indian Residential schools, which aimed to socialize and Christianize First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples," said Anglican primate Archbishop Fred Hiltz.

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast

"We failed them. We failed ourselves. We failed God. We failed because of our racism and because of the belief that white ways were superior to aboriginal ways."

United Church Moderator David Guiliano pointed out that while First Nations people are "aware of their need for healing" they are "calling us to acknowledge our need for healing, too."

He said Church people "need to be healed of tunnel vision and cultural superiority."

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa spoke on behalf of Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, president of the 50 Catholic entities that were signatories to the settlement agreement.

Healing, reconciliation

Speaking in French, Prendergast stressed the Catholic Church's commitment to healing and reconciliation.

Asked why the Catholic Church had not issued an apology for residential schools, Prendergast said the Church "has expressed its sorrow and apologies in various places."

He explained the decentralized nature of the Catholic Church's structure as a federation of dioceses and religious communities.

The Catholic Church's apology "had to come from the various entities that are there in the appropriate localities where people can hear and see the bishop or the religious leaders," he said.

"We are not structurally organized as the Catholic Church of Canada."

Assembly of First Nations' (AFN) Alberta Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild also spoke at the kickoff.

Missing chapter

The churches are needed to help aboriginal Canadians "write the missing chapter of our history involving residential schools," said Littlechild.

"We're pleased to have this opportunity to walk with the churches on this journey, a journey of reconciliation with our people and all Canadians."

The tour's stops included Vancouver on March 5, Saskatoon on March 9, and Winnipeg on March 10.

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