Bishop William McGrattan: How the Papal apology invites an end to a culture of indifference

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As Bishop of Calgary and vice-president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, few would be surprised to know that Pope Francis’ historic apology on Canadian soil is top of mind as I reflect on the past year. While his profound words and gestures resonated deeply, they should not be mistaken for a conclusion to the difficult but necessary national conversation on residential schools.

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Rather, the Canadian Bishops and all Canadians who listened to the Holy Father heard a strong and unambiguous call to take up the long and meaningful work of reconciliation. “Gestures and visits can be important, but most words and deeds of reconciliation take place at the local level … where individuals and families travel side-by-side, day by day,” he told an audience at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, a national Indigenous church in downtown Edmonton.

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As an assembly, we are working earnestly to take up this call, while continuing to engage in constructive conversations with Indigenous partners at the local, regional and national levels. In just over a year, the Church in Canada has established new financial supports for healing and reconciliation initiatives, worked with our archivists on the issue of access to documentation related to the children who attended residential schools, and — importantly — continued to forge new and fruitful relationships with our Indigenous partners based on mutual respect and co-operation.

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We established the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund with a specific goal of ensuring the progress we have made nationally translates to collaboration at the local level. The national fund, which is chaired by three Indigenous board directors has currently raised over $9 million, toward the overall pledged goal of $30 million within the next five years, for healing and reconciliation projects. It has also been tasked to work with local diocesan or regional reconciliation committees across Canada to identify valuable projects that will support Indigenous people in their respective communities.

As we head into a new year, the Church’s efforts will include work to foster a greater understanding of Indigenous traditions, tackling social challenges, and accompanying Indigenous peoples in the recognition of their inherent rights. And we will continue to lend our support to culturally appropriate research, analysis or investigations that can help Indigenous peoples and Canadians to better and more accurately understand the historical truth of the residential school history.

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While this work is not limited to the Catholic Church alone, reconciliation is a fundamentally Catholic concept rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and actualized in our sacraments. There is virtue in both acknowledging where members of the Church have done wrong and working towards correcting the wrongs.

By giving so much of himself to the cause of reconciliation, especially here in Canada, Pope Francis has encouraged us all to embrace with confidence the work that lies ahead. Many who witnessed his solemn prayer at Ermineskin cemetery, which is believed to have the remains of former residential school students, or his moving interactions with residential school survivors, have developed a new perspective on the painful legacy that persists to this day.

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The wounds that have been experienced by Indigenous peoples — through the suppression of languages, culture and spirituality, and through the various forms of physical, psychological and sexual abuse that took place at residential schools — are deep. We are all called to embrace these wounds as our own and walk forward in solidarity with those who are suffering, as exemplified by Pope Francis.

We are all called to embrace these wounds as our own

The events of the past year have given us a blueprint for this continued journey. Both the papal visit and the Canadian delegation of Indigenous residential school survivors, elders, knowledge keepers and youth, were possible through meaningful collaboration and shared conviction that these initial steps of walking together will promote reconciliation and serve the truth. In the preparation for, and accomplishment of, the papal visit to Canada, we were blessed by the commitment of over 3,000 volunteers across the country, a generous group of private donors, contributions from all levels of government, the brave engagement of residential school survivors, and the patience and guidance of many more Indigenous partners who supported these events.

We can never forget this work, because as Pope Francis reminded us this summer, “forgetfulness leads to indifference.” It is with great hope that I invite Canadians not to look away, but to continue the journey, so that 2022 is not only remembered for words and events, but for resetting the mindset of indifference that too many have long accepted.

National Post

Bishop William McGrattan is vice-president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.