A few days before Pope Francis’ visit to Canada, Canadian bishops reported on progress in raising funds to fund indigenous reconciliation projects. In total, they want to collect about 30 million Canadian dollars, about 23 million euros.
According to cath.ch, he announced it last Monday. The Canadian Catholic Bishops’ Conference Fund has already raised $4.6 million from the country’s Catholic diocese. The projects are defined locally and in consultation with the three main indigenous groups – First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The first project proposal had already been approved on July 15, the board said in a press release.
The project is scheduled to run for a total of five years. It is a response to a demand by the Catholic Church in Canada to redress abuses committed by Indigenous children in boarding schools run by Catholic religious orders.
Criticism of the Catholic Church
In recent years, the church has been criticized for not adhering to an agreement signed in 2006 to settle disputes related to Indian boarding schools, Cath.ch further reports. According to this agreement, he was to pay US$25 million as compensation. Following the delay, the Bishops of Canada announced in January 2022 that they had paid approximately $28.5 million.
The fundraising campaign, which began in September 2021 and has now raised US$4.6 million, is the second attempt to raise funds for various projects with indigenous groups. The first attempt was a collection held in 2015; It only brought in $2.6 million, instead of the expected $25 million.
(cath.ch – black)
