Organizers of the pope’s visit say the Vatican has “clarified” part of Pope Francis’ apology to school survivors, noting a translation error. The pontiff’s words near Edmonton this week raised questions when he said an important part of the past asking for forgiveness “will be conducting a serious investigation into the facts of what happened.” Francis, born in Argentina, spoke Spanish and the apology was translated into English. Organizers of the pope’s visit said in a statement that the Vatican “clarified” that the English translation should mean that survivors heard the pope say what is needed next is a “serious investigation,” not a “serious investigation.” . “Hearing what the Holy Father said, he expressed his deep desire for the Catholic community to continue to take steps towards the transparent search for truth and to encourage healing and reconciliation,” the organizers’ statement said. They say Canadian bishops have also pledged to hand over documents that could help communities locate the remains of indigenous children believed to be buried in unmarked graves at former school sites. A desire to see household records related to the school held at the Vatican and other Catholic entities is among the pending demands facing Pope Francis as he tours Canada. Yellowhead Institute executive director Hayden King, who is Anishinaabe from the Beausoleil First Nation in Ontario, said his immediate reaction to the pontiff citing the need for an inquiry or survey was how the Vatican is only at the beginning of understanding the damage. which has been done. “We’ve been living this … since before Confederation,” he said. “It’s not necessarily that we’re looking for another investigation.” King said that while the pope discusses the need for fact-finding, the Catholic Church has “thousands” of pages of documents naming clergy who abused indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools. “Everybody else is looking for a lot more than … ‘We’re going to go and figure out what happened and get back to you.’ At the same time, King said that if an investigation or inquiry leads to the release of more church-held documents, that would help. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, which collects school records, said in a statement that the Catholic Church must work together “to show accountability.” Canada already investigated the system through a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that ran from 2008 to 2015. He heard from nearly 7,000 survivors and their families about what happened in the institutions and told how thousands of children suffered abuse, neglect and malnutrition.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 28, 2022.