Pope Francis and Walking Together

 It's been hot in recent days so we took advantage of an overnight cool-down to get out early in our kayaks. It was before 7:00 that we launched on a stretch of the Moira River north of Belleville so we had the river to ourselves. The Moira was a travel route for Indigenous peoples in the past and I thought of them during our tranquil paddle, well aware that Pope Francis will arrive in Canada this weekend for what he is calling a "pilgrimage of penance." 

During six days beginning Sunday Francis will visit major centres across the country in the Walking Together trip, meeting with Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors as he apologizes for the Roman Catholic church’s grim legacy. He will also visit Iqaluit, with that community's large Indigenous population. and he may visit a residential school site where there are the unmarked graves of children who died because of malnutrition and poor medical care. 

When an Indigenous delegation spent most of a week with Pope Francis at the Vatican earlier this year he offered an apology at the conclusion which came as a surprise to some. While Francis acknowledged the evil of the abuses he spoke of the individuals who perpetrated them, not the church as an entity which engaged in cultural genocide. 

As I've listened and read and watched Indigenous leaders and commentators there are several themes which emerge about what should happen during the few days Pope Francis is in Canada.

One is a broad and honest apology for the role of the Roman Catholic church in residential schools, not just acknowledging the sins of individuals.

Another is a commitment to the repatriation of the many artifacts and sacred objects which reside at the Vatican. While these are considered historic gifts to the Roman Catholic church they are not regarded this way by Indigenous people. 

There needs to be a renewed commitment to financial reparations, which other denominations have fulfilled. The Roman Catholic church in Canada has failed miserably in honouring promises to raise funds while finding money for other projects. 

There have also been numerous requests for Pope Francis and the Roman Catholic church to renounce the Doctrine of Discover, the Papal statements beginning in 1493 which granted Christian explorers to claim land and engage in colonization around the world, including in Canada. While this seem like old history, it has symbolic significance and a repudiation of the doctrine would be meaningful. We should note that the United Church of Canada repudiated the Doctrine of Discover a decade ago, in 2012, as did the World Council of Churches. 

This papal visit is important and a huge commitment for 85-year-old Pope Francis, whose health has deteriorated over the past year.He certainly won't be doing much physical walking with those he visits.  We can pray that he has the moral strength to express his penance through concrete action for the sake of reconciliation and healing. 

We can also pray for all those who are residential school survivors and those who have experienced intergenerational trauma.