Dear Archbishop Richard Gagnon:

We are writing to you from the unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation that is recognized as the custodian of the lands and waters we now call Montreal.

We are a group of 12 women, all living in Montreal or the surrounding area, who have met once a month for over 20 years to share a meal and pray together. Our prayers have often concerned social justice issues and our most recent gatherings were shortly after the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School and the 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near the Marieval Indian Residential School. The gravity of these discoveries and the grief and suffering of residential school survivors that is intensified when these already suspected deaths were confirmed in such a dramatic manner, brought us to the decision that our group would write to you to make two requests, one dealing with the past and the second dealing with the present and future.

First, in line with the TRC Call to Action # 58, we respectfully request that the CCCB invite Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize “to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools.” Pope Francis’ desire to honour the autonomy of the CCCB prevents him from issuing the sought-after apology without the explicit request of the CCCB. The symbolic value of the Pope’s apology offers an important step in the healing of residential school survivors. This testifies to the continued relevance of the Pope and the Catholic church in these troubled times. We are saddened by the destruction of Catholic Churches in Canada by angry, wounded people who are using the reality of the harm of Residential Schools to justify destruction in another manner. We believe that the Pope’s apology will be a gesture toward healing at many levels.

Our second request addresses an issue that affects the present and future. It is in line with the TRC Call to Action # 59, “We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.” Education moves beyond symbolic gestures to broaden horizons and reveal biases. Education is a key to addressing the “spiritual violence” that the TRC Call to Action #60 points to as an ongoing problem within Churches in Canada. We respectfully ask the CCCB to initiate an education program for parishes which will shed light on past and ongoing injustices and thereby contribute to the healing and reconciliation process.

Finally, we wish to add an expression of thanks for your commitment to Indigenous peoples of Canada and for the work you have done and continue to do to improve the lives of all people who suffer injustice in the world.

Yours truly,
Christine Jamieson, Montreal, QC

On behalf of:
Terri Azzaria, Montreal, QC
Moira Carley, Westmount, QC
Kathleen Dunn, Westmount, QC
Melissa Holland, Montreal, QC
Anne Lynch, Montreal West QC
Anne Macaulay, Lachine QC
Maureen MacCuish, Pointe Claire, QC
Houda Moussallier, Montréal, QC
Daryl Lynn Ross, Montreal, QC
Enid Sarrazin, Montreal, QC
Trudy Woszczyk, Montreal, QC