Eugene Mission School near Cranbrook in British Columbia was made possible by ground-penetrating radar. This is the third such discovery in a few weeks. Given the increase in targeted searches, more searches can be expected.

Meanwhile, on the night of July 1, another Catholic church, St. Kateri Tekaquitha Church, about 65 kilometers from Halifax, burned down. A police spokesman described the fire as “suspicious,” according to CBC; But there was only minor damage to property.

planned meeting with the pope

On 29 June, the Bishops’ Conference of Canada announced that a group of Indigenous representatives of Canada would meet Pope Francis at the Vatican in mid-December (December 17 and 20). It is about promoting “dialogue and healing”, it said.

According to observers, this could also be the backdrop for a future visit by the Pope to Canada to formally apologize to the natives for the crimes of the past decades. The indigenous people hoped for an apology from the Pope.

many graves were discovered

Over the past few weeks, the discovery of several graves in Canada has caused sensation and outrage. The Tk’emlups te Secwepemc community announced that the remains of 215 children from indigenous families had been found in a former church re-education center near Kamloops. The Cowesses ethnic group reported that investigators found the remains of people in 751 unmarked graves on the property of the former Maryval Indian Catholic Residential School in the province of Saskatchewan.

Prime Minister Trudeau apologizes

In a face-to-face meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently called on Pope Francis to apologize to indigenous peoples. In early June Francis himself was already disappointed and startled: “with pain” he was following the news from Canada. Government and church officials must continue to work together with a determination “to shed light on this tragic matter.”

David Chartrand, vice president of the Metis National Council, told broadcaster CBC that Indigenous representatives wanted to urge the Pope to apologize on Indigenous soil in Canada. “I hope I can hear from the Pope that he understands the pain. We want him to come to our country.”

in coordination with indigenous peoples

The President of the Canadian Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Richard Gagnon of Winnipeg, was convinced that the Pope was prepared for such a move at an “appropriate time”. According to the CBC, he said he hoped Francis would take a similar path to Bolivia, where he apologized for “many grave sins committed in the name of God against Native Americans” during a 2015 visit. “But he will tailor it to the specifics of the Canadian situation,” Gagnon said.

Between 1830 and 1998, it is estimated that about 150,000 Indigenous children were placed – often forcibly – in reeducation homes in Canada. Many of these 139 houses were run by the church. There the children should be introduced to the “Christian Civilization” on behalf of the state. Often they were not allowed to speak their mother tongue; Many of them were abused or abused.