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By Dylana Kneeshaw

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

Tk’emlúps repeats call for apology, invites Pope Francis to include local region on visit to Canada

Oct 28, 2021 | 6:46 AM

TK’EMLUPS TE SECWEPEMC — After news of a planned visit from Pope Francis to Canada, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS) leadership is inviting the Pope to include the local area in his visit.

The band says in a news release this morning (Oct. 28) that they are inviting Pope Francis to bear witness to Le Estcwéý (the missing children) and meet survivors of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recently invited the Pope to come to Canada in the context of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Pope Francis has indicated willingness to visit the country, though a date for the trip has not been set.

Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir says words of remorse have been expressed by local and regional Roman Catholic representatives, but there has never been an apology from the highest level of the Roman Catholic Church.

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“It would be deeply meaningful to welcome the Holy See, Pope Francis, to Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, as our heart wrenching news was the first of the wave of confirmations of unmarked graves with thousands more lives lost coming to light.” states Casimir, “It’d be a historic moment for Kamloops Residential Indian School Survivors and for our community who continues to navigate the impacts following the horrific confirmation of the missing children.”

In the release, the band acknowledges Bishop Joseph Nguyen, the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Kamloops, who has expressed his sympathy, sorrow and genuine apology to Tk’emlups te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir and all of the local First Nation communities.

TteS says the truth part of Truth and Reconciliation means there needs to be an acknowledgment of the role the Catholic Church had in the deaths of children who attended Indian Residential Schools. The band states that while the Oblates of Mary Immaculate operated the Kamloops Indian Residential School based on policies and legislation of the Government of Canada, the Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly refused to accept responsibility or formally apologize for its role in the abuses committed against Indigenous children through the system.

Tk’emlúps is calling on the Roman Catholic Church to provide an apology from Pope Francis, accept responsibility for its direct role in abuses committed against Indigenous children during the schools’ operation time, and live up to previous promises made to disclose documents to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and raise funds for survivors.

“For the Pope to come to Canada without real action, with simply the objective of reconciliation, glosses over and ignores this hard truth,” notes Casimir, “Though some may wish for reconciliation, Tkemlúps te Secwépemc is still saddled with the truth of identifying hundreds of child victims from the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Chief Casimir is also confirmed to be part of the Indigenous delegation travelling to the Vatican in December to seek an apology.