by Brian Dryden

OTTAWA — There is no guarantee that a delegation to the Vatican will lead to a papal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system but the former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations is praying it will.

Former AFN Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde said a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis in December will be an opportunity for Canada’s First Peoples to convince the pope that reconciliation between the Church and Indigenous Canadians can only move forward if the pope visits Canada and apologizes to survivors and families on the “soil and the land” where the abuses of the residential school system occurred.

“The meeting has been confirmed at the Vatican so we are going to take that meeting and then at that time take the opportunity to invite His Holiness back to Canada at some point in the future,” Mr. Bellegarde said during a press conference on June 30.

“There are no guarantees of any apology or that he will even come back to Canada but we have to make the attempt and we have to seize the opportunity,” said Mr. Bellegarde. “I believe the spirit will move and things will happen in a good way. That is my hope and that is my prayer.”

Mr. Bellegarde’s press conference came a day after the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) confirmed that a meeting between representatives of Canada’s First Peoples and the pope in the Vatican will will be held December 17-20

“Pope Francis is deeply committed to hearing directly from Indigenous Peoples, expressing his heartfelt oneness, addressing the impact of colonization and the role of the Church in the residential school system, in the hopes of responding to the suffering of Indigenous Peoples and the ongoing effects of inter-generational trauma,” said a statement released by the CCCB on June 29.

“This pastoral visit will include the participation of a diverse group of Elders/Knowledge Keepers, residential school survivors and youth from across the country, accompanied by a small group of Bishops and Indigenous leaders,” the CCCB said. “planning for the delegation is ongoing and further details will be announced when they are available.”

Mr. Bellegarde confirmed on June 30 that the details of who will be part of the delegation to the Vatican is still to be determined but is expected to include representatives from Canadian First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities and that planning discussions for such a visit have been ongoing between the CCCB and First Peoples representatives for a while.

Mr. Bellegarde said he is hopeful that Canada’s bishops will join in formally asking Pope Francis to come to Canada to make a papal apology because he said the CCCB is an important organization and he believes that the AFN has established a relationship of mutual respect with the CCCB.

One of the key recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a demand for a formal apology be made by the pope in Canada on behalf of the Catholic Church for its role in the residential school system.

Calls for the pope to make such an apology have been made before, including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously, but so far those requests have not been heeded.

Mr. Bellegarde said Pope Francis has made “powerful” statements on behalf of the Church regarding the Irish people and Indigenous people in Bolivia in the past and the December meeting in the Vatican is “a step” towards that happening in Canada.

“That is the expectation,” Mr. Bellegarde said. “That is the hope.”