Pope Francis Apologizes for 'Evil' Committed Against Indigenous Children in Canada

Pope Francis on Monday publicly apologized for the Catholic Church's role in the "evil" committed against several generations of indigenous children at Canadian residential schools.

The Pope described his six-day visit to Canada as a "penitential pilgrimage" and expressed regret for the "many Christians who supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples." Between 1881 and 1996, Canada’s government and the Catholic Church separated over 150,000 children from their families and sent them to residential schools. Students were forced to "assimilate" into white Canadian society and were brutally punished if they expressed aspects of their indigenous identities.

A delegation of indigenous peoples with the Assembly of First Nations traveled to the Vatican in April and received an initial apology from the pope. Canada’s Catholic Church has now pledged over $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the indigenous groups affected by the "catastrophic" school policies and anticipated an additional $30 million in donations over the next five years.

Coverage from right-rated outlets cast doubt on the validity of the 751 unmarked graves extensively highlighted by media outlets last year, emphasizing how "not one body" was found and that indigenous Canadians were aware of the site's existence "before the media cast light on them." Some left-rated reports highlighted how the Pope's visit "triggered more pain" for the indigenous school survivors and that thousands of more mass graves are "expected" to be found.