Quillette has an interesting article on the reality or not of unmarked graves found by ground imaging. I have no expertise in this area, not a Canadian. Perhaps someone could join the dots here?
Pope Francis and your reporter have been woefully misinformed about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. For a more accurate presentation of the issues, I would suggest Prof Hymie Rubinstein's letter to the Canadian bishops:
Pope Francis and your reporter have been woefully misinformed about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. For a more accurate presentation of the issues, I would suggest Prof Hymie Rubinstein's letter to the Canadian bishops:
Statement from The Honourable Murray Sinclair on the Pope’s Apology
WINNIPEG — The Honourable Murray Sinclair, former senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), issued the following statement today:
“I want to recognize the importance of the Pope’s apology to Survivors, their families, and communities. For many Survivors, I know that hearing the words of contrition from the Pope was, and is, an important factor in their personal recoveries and growth. My thoughts and prayers were with them as they listened.
When we set out Call to Action 58 in the TRC final report, the goal was always to have Survivors hear first-hand not only remorse, but an acceptance of responsibility for what they were put through at the hands of the Church and other institutions.
Despite this historic apology, the Holy Father’s statement has left a deep hole in the acknowledgement of the full role of the Church in the Residential School system, by placing blame on individual members of the Church. It is important to underscore that the Church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land.
Driven by the Doctrine of Discovery and other Church beliefs and doctrines, Catholic leaders not only enabled the Government of Canada, but pushed it even further in its work to commit cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples. In many instances, it was not just a collaboration, but an instigation. There are clear examples in our history where the Church called for the Government of Canada to be more aggressive and bold in its work to destroy Indigenous culture, traditional practices and beliefs.
It was more than the work of a few bad actors — this was a concerted institutional effort to remove children from their families and cultures, all in the name of Christian supremacy.
While an apology has been made, that same doctrine is in place. The Pope and the Church remain silent on the most problematic tenets of its belief system: that Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world should not have the right to practice their own faith, cultures, and traditions.
Reconciliation requires action, not passiveness. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples specifically calls for action to assist in restoring culture, beliefs, and traditions destroyed through past actions as, to fail to do so, allows for the destructive agency to live with the benefit from those past misdeeds. For the children and descendants of Survivors, it is not enough that you have stopped abusing them, you must act to help them recover, as well as commit to never doing this again.
As the Pope continues his pilgrimage this week to meet First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Survivors, I hope he will take this to heart. There is a better path that the Church — and all Canadians — can indeed follow: taking responsibility for past actions and resolving to do better on this journey of reconciliation.
We must commit ourselves to talk to and about each other with respect.”
<Until 1948, attendance for many First Nations children was mandatory, and children were forcibly separated from their families to attend.>
Mandatory, like, who made the rule? Was it the Canadian government that mandates this?
<The residential schools were part of a set of policies which amounted to “cultural genocide,” according to... >
Canadian policies? Church policies?
How connected were church and state in Canada at the time? If "very" then which church?
Not trying to exonerate Catholics where there was actual fault, just trying to get a clearer picture of the situation.
Quillette has an interesting article on the reality or not of unmarked graves found by ground imaging. I have no expertise in this area, not a Canadian. Perhaps someone could join the dots here?
Pope Francis and your reporter have been woefully misinformed about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. For a more accurate presentation of the issues, I would suggest Prof Hymie Rubinstein's letter to the Canadian bishops:
https://hymie.substack.com/p/my-letter-to-the-catholic-bishops?r=35al0&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
See also my article in Touchstone Magazine:
https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=35-01-024-u&readcode=10638
Pope Francis and your reporter have been woefully misinformed about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. For a more accurate presentation of the issues, I would suggest Prof Hymie Rubinstein's letter to the Canadian bishops:
https://hymie.substack.com/p/my-letter-to-the-catholic-bishops?r=35al0&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
See also my article in Touchstone Magazine:
https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=35-01-024-u&readcode=10638
Statement
For immediate release:
July 26, 2022
Statement from The Honourable Murray Sinclair on the Pope’s Apology
WINNIPEG — The Honourable Murray Sinclair, former senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), issued the following statement today:
“I want to recognize the importance of the Pope’s apology to Survivors, their families, and communities. For many Survivors, I know that hearing the words of contrition from the Pope was, and is, an important factor in their personal recoveries and growth. My thoughts and prayers were with them as they listened.
When we set out Call to Action 58 in the TRC final report, the goal was always to have Survivors hear first-hand not only remorse, but an acceptance of responsibility for what they were put through at the hands of the Church and other institutions.
Despite this historic apology, the Holy Father’s statement has left a deep hole in the acknowledgement of the full role of the Church in the Residential School system, by placing blame on individual members of the Church. It is important to underscore that the Church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land.
Driven by the Doctrine of Discovery and other Church beliefs and doctrines, Catholic leaders not only enabled the Government of Canada, but pushed it even further in its work to commit cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples. In many instances, it was not just a collaboration, but an instigation. There are clear examples in our history where the Church called for the Government of Canada to be more aggressive and bold in its work to destroy Indigenous culture, traditional practices and beliefs.
It was more than the work of a few bad actors — this was a concerted institutional effort to remove children from their families and cultures, all in the name of Christian supremacy.
While an apology has been made, that same doctrine is in place. The Pope and the Church remain silent on the most problematic tenets of its belief system: that Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world should not have the right to practice their own faith, cultures, and traditions.
Reconciliation requires action, not passiveness. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples specifically calls for action to assist in restoring culture, beliefs, and traditions destroyed through past actions as, to fail to do so, allows for the destructive agency to live with the benefit from those past misdeeds. For the children and descendants of Survivors, it is not enough that you have stopped abusing them, you must act to help them recover, as well as commit to never doing this again.
As the Pope continues his pilgrimage this week to meet First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Survivors, I hope he will take this to heart. There is a better path that the Church — and all Canadians — can indeed follow: taking responsibility for past actions and resolving to do better on this journey of reconciliation.
We must commit ourselves to talk to and about each other with respect.”
-30-
For more information:
media@emdashagency.ca
Please note that Murray Sinclair is not available for interviews this week.