The papal trip to Canada next week will be a “penitential pilgrimage” to bring healing and reconciliation, Pope Francis said Sunday.
Newsroom (18/07/2022 8:00 AM Gaudium Press) The pope is scheduled to travel to the Canadian cities of Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit from July 24-29. There, he will meet members of Canadian indigenous groups, residential school abuse survivors, and Catholics.
“Next Sunday, God willing, I will leave for Canada; therefore, I wish now to address all the people of that country,” Francis said after the Angelus on July 17.
“As you know,” he said, “I will come among you especially in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the indigenous peoples.”
He thanked all those preparing for the trip and asked for prayers.
“I am about to make a penitential pilgrimage,” he said, “which I hope, with God’s grace, will contribute to the journey of healing and reconciliation already undertaken.”
The pope recalled his private meetings with representatives of the Métis, Inuit, and First Nations peoples at the Vatican at the end of March and April and the sorrow and solidarity he expressed for the harm they suffered.
“Unfortunately, in Canada, many Christians, including some members of religious institutes, have contributed to the policies of cultural assimilation that, in the past, have severely harmed native communities in various ways,” he said.
Pope Francis is expected to issue an apology in Canada on behalf of the Catholic Church for the abuses committed against indigenous students in Catholic-run residential schools.
The Canadian bishops said last year that they would welcome Francis’ visit as a “pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.”
(Via CNA)
Compiled by Raju Hasmukh
