Residential school survivors met with Roman Catholic bishops today to discuss what they expect from Pope Francis’s visit to Canada next month.
The meeting followed two days of talks among some members of the National Indian Residential School Circle of Survivors about the visit and reconciliation with the church.
Ken Young, the former Assembly of First Nations regional chief for Manitoba, says he was satisfied with the Pope’s apology for the church’s role in residential schools in Rome earlier this year.
Young says he has hope the pontiff will also say the right thing when he comes to Canada.
The group of residential school survivors wants the papal visit expanded to more locations beyond the scheduled stops in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut during the trip from July 24 to July 29.
Richard Smith, the archbishop of Edmonton, says the bishops of Canada are committed to work with survivors and all Indigenous people during the visit and moving forward.
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