Indigenous leaders are expressing disappointment and frustration after they say Pope Francis fell short of delivering an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools.
The Pope spoke Sunday in Rome and expressed his pain over the discovery of remains at a former residential school site in British Columbia.
Chief Bobby Cameron with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan says everyone who knows about residential schools is pained and saddened.
He says now is the time for the Pope to step forward and offer an apology that could help heal survivors and families of students who died.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on the Catholic Church to take responsibility for its role in the residential school system and has urged for a release of all documents.
More than 60 per cent of residential schools were run by the Catholic Church.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2021.
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