Indigenous leaders say Pope Francis must be ready to deliver an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools if he visits Canada.
“An apology is the beginning,” said Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme. “An apology is required, and the rebuilding of a relationship would follow the apology.”
The Saskatchewan First Nation made international headlines earlier this year with the discovery of potentially 751 unmarked graves near the former Catholic-run Marieval Indian Residential School.
Delorme said an apology would verify and validate the pain many survivors still live with today.