Daily BrewPope’s U.S. apology rings hollow for North American First Nations
In imploring U.S. lawmakers to show compassion to refugees, Pope Francis once again acknowledged the brutal treatment of the Indigenous peoples in the settlement of North America.
But the Catholic pontiff did not agree to a request from Canadian and American native leaders to meet during Francis’s first visit to the United States this week.
And he proceeded to canonize a Catholic missionary whose elevation to sainthood was strongly opposed by many First Nations.
“We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners,” Francis said in his speech at the U.S. capitol on Thursday.
“Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected.”
The leader of the Catholic world offered his “highest esteem and appreciation” to those people.
“Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present,” Francis said, urging his audience not to repeat the “sins and errors of the past.”
The Assembly of First Nations along with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Congress of American Indians had written to Francis to request a meeting during the six-day visit.
A spokeswoman for the assembly says they did not receive a response.
National Chief Perry Bellegarde, who has asked the pontiff for an apology to Canadian First Nations delivered in Canada, declined a request for an interview.
Brian Cladoosby, president of the National Congress of American Indians, says he welcomes the message on the environment and equality, but the controversial canonization of 18th century missionary priest Junipero Serra flies in the face of making amends with American native peoples.
Serra “played a pivotal role in the enslavement, torture and other violent tactics perpetrated against Native peoples though the mission system in California,” Cladoosby says in an emailed statement to Yahoo Canada News.
“This canonization is strongly opposed by California tribes because it validates the monstrous history of the Catholic Church during that time. “
Abuses continue into the present day, Cladoosby says, and he urges the pope and the Vatican to begin a process of reform and reconciliation.
The California Association of Tribal Governments also condemned Serra’s canonization.
“The atrocities perpetrated upon our families at the Friar Serra mission continues to burden our tribal citizens with the cumulative psychological and physical impacts of historic trauma,” the association says.
An apology from the pope — on Canadian soil — for the “spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse” suffered by Canadian First Nations at the hands of Church leaders was one of the 94 recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report released earlier this year.
His comments in Washington, D.C., this week are the second time Francis has acknowledged the colonial abuses of Indigenous peoples. During a visit to Bolivia in July, he apologized and asked forgiveness for the “grave sins” of the Church during the colonization of the Americas.
“I say this to you with regret: many grave sins were committed against the native people of America in the name of God,” the pontiff said.
“I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offence of the Church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.”
The pontiff’s U.S. tour ends Sunday.
