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Edmonton archbishop says Vatican should consider an apology for role in residential schools

Edmonton archbishop says Vatican should consider an apology for role in residential schools

Edmonton's Catholic archbishop says he has spoken with Pope Francis about calls for the church to consider formally apologizing for its role in Canada's legacy of residential schools.

Over a breakfast with journalists Monday, Archbishop Richard Smith said during visits to the Vatican earlier this year he and other Canadian bishops spoke with the pope about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and calls for the pontiff to visit Canada to make an apology.

"He is a man with a very serious pastoral faith, so we trust he will do what is right and what is good," Smith said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he asked Pope Francis during an official meeting to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in the tragedy of residential schools.

The schools enlisted First Nations children into Catholic boarding schools with terrible living conditions. Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented the deaths of more than 6,000 residential school students as a result of their school experiences.

The formal apology is one of the commission's 94 recommendations towards repairing the relationship between the government of Canada and Indigenous peoples.

Smith said any apology made by the Pope would be best done in person. But he said Pope Francis doesn't plan to visit Canada this year.