Abuse apology still needed in Canada
“[W]ith shame and repentance”, the Pope has apologized to “People of God” less than a week after sexual abuse of children over the last 70 years by Catholic priests is outlined in a Pennsylvania grand jury report.
Will Pope Francis now apologize to the people and their families and loved ones who have suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse in Residential Schools in Canada from the 1870s to 1996? To aid in healing, he has been asked by First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegard; an apology has been recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; a request was made by the Prime Minister of Canada. Many people — Catholics and non-Catholics — throughout Canada ask for an apology.
As recently as March 2018, five months ago, Justice Alphonsus Faour of the NL Provincial Supreme Court cited “historical context” as he cleared the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the sexual abuse of boys at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in the 1950s. “Historical context”!! Human context is why an apology is still needed in Canada.
Miyo Stevens
North Cowichan
