We have been dismayed by the news stories that ground-penetrating radar confirmed the remains of the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, last month. The school was Canada's largest such facility and was operated by the Catholic Church between 1890 and 1969.
Pope Francis has been criticized that he expressed pain, but stopped short of a formal apology: Pope voices 'pain' over Indigenous children's deaths, doesn't apologize | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)
What form should an apology for a situation such as this take, when the victims are dead, and the perpetrators are likely to be as well? But the sins of the past cast a long shadow.
I guess I would take the same path I would if I found out that the family of a friend had suffered some drastic injustice or catastrophe in the past, and that the events still haunted people in the present. Something like, "I am so sorry you went through this! I can't imagine what it must have been like! Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can do to help?
This is a situation in which children, and their cultures and languages, were lost. We talk about restorative justice. The restoration which could take place here is the restoration of the names of the children, and the memories of them. There have to be records of the names of the children who were went to the schools. There also have to be death records, even if the deaths happened in an epidemic with hasty burials. With DNA technology now, maybe some of the remains can be returned to their communities. If there is no community or family left, the graves could be given markers, with names (and dates, if known). If not all the individual graves can be identified, a monument with names could be erected.
Under the heading of "Do you want to talk about it?" surviving family members can be encouraged to tell their stories, and these to be recorded for posterity, lest we forget.
As a personal aside, there is a school in our archdiocese which was established for Native American children, St. Augustine Mission, in Winnebago. It was established by St. Katharine Drexel in 1909. It still exists, and is supported by the archdiocese. It is a day school now. To my knowledge there aren't any scandals such as the one in Canada associated with it. I do know that there has been a 180° turn in educational philosophy since probably the 1950s, in which an effort is made to affirm the native culture and preserve the language.
Did the pope apologize for Ireland's Magdalen Laundries scandals?
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland
Katherine, although your idea is helpful, it is not nearly enough. The RCC must join the United, Methodist, and Anglican churches that operated these schools (60% were operated by the RCC) in issuing a formal apology - that means the Pope who is the current head of the RCC. The RCC is the only involved institution that has not yet issued an official apology from the top. Your approach is more like - "I'm really sorry that the violence inflicted on you has caused you trauma and harm" instead of "I'm deeply sorry that my church caused deep trauma and harm. No apology is good enough to make up for the devastating harm for which we were responsible, but we want you to know of our deep sorrow and regret. What would you lie to tell us about how we can help you now?"
ReplyDeleteYour listening approach will fail if the RCC does not own up to its culpability and responsibility for the abuse and deaths of these children. Without publicly acknowledging the church's responsibility and issuing an apology, the nice words about listening are meaningless - empty.
I looked up the Apologies of the United Church, which date back to the 1980s, and acknowledge the poor treatment given the indigenous peoples of Canada throughout the history since the Europeans colonized the nation.
https://united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/reconciliation-and-indigenous-justice/apologies
Here is part of of one of the letters to the editor of NCR after their commentary was published.
I am thankful that the leader of my country is admitting fault and committing to bringing forth justice and healing, but I don't think justice and healing can come without another leader following the prime minister's lead.
Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Methodist and Presbyterian churches were the major denominations involved in the administration of the residential school system, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The Catholic Church was responsible for operating up to 60% of residential schools in Canada yet the Catholic Church is the only one that has not made a formal apology.
In 2008, the federal government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, issued a formal apology for the damage done by the residential school system. And in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally asked Pope Francis to apologize during a visit to the Vatican. But the pope did not apologize.
I don't think the Pope owes anyone an apology for whatever happened in Canada. He had nothing to do with it. Neither have I nor hundreds of millions of other Catholics. My own view is that to blame "the church" is to engage in fuzzy thinking. If there still is anyone living who can be held accountable for whatever evils were committed, or if people living today somehow benefitted from the crimes committed by people who now are dead, then perhaps justice can be pursued with them.
ReplyDeleteJim, I agree about the pope not owing anyone an apology. I think it could take the form of "I am so sorry your people went through this!", which he kind of did. If the church and the religious orders can help find the records of the lost children, I think they should. Trying to help people gain closure could be a work of mercy.
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