Reconciliation a 'key role' for Catholic Church, says new archbishop of Winnipeg

In a ceremonial earlier this month, Murray Chatlain walked into St. Mary's Cathedral to beryllium ordained the Roman Catholic Church's eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg. 

Just earlier walking to the altar astatine the opening of the ceremony, Chatlain stopped astatine the backmost of the church, removed his headwear and rings, closed his eyes and smudged his body. A radical of First Nations drummers played and sang a invited to the caller archbishop. 

To Chatlain, bringing First Nations contented to the religion is indispensable for the galore parishioners successful Manitoba who privation to observe their Indigenous spirituality and practise the Catholic faith.

But celebrating some is besides portion of gathering a narration with Indigenous people, helium said, and a step guardant toward reconciliation.

"We did immoderate harm, immoderate superior harm," said Chatlain. "For the religion to conscionable locomotion distant aft doing harm, I don't deliberation it's mature oregon appropriate, and truthful … we request to beryllium contiguous to however they are trying to beryllium healing."

By celebrating the civilization and connection of Indigenous people, Chatlain is hoping the religion tin find the balance that ideally would person existed at the commencement of the relationship.

"A cardinal relation for america is reconciliation," helium said.

Chatlain said determination is inactive a agelong mode to go, so reconciliation will beryllium a precedence for him arsenic archbishop — much arsenic it has been for him successful different communities wherever he's served, helium said.

"It ever starts by getting to cognize each different and listening," said Chatlain, whose archdiocese includes a wide swath of confederate Manitoba.

"So I anticipation to beryllium capable to conscionable with and perceive immoderate of our Indigenous peoples successful Winnipeg." 

After being ordained successful the precocious 1980s, Chatlain spent his aboriginal years arsenic clergyman successful Saskatoon, earlier being posted to Indigenous communities with Catholic parishioners successful Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories wrong the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, wherever his enactment led him to studying the Dene language. 

In 2012 Chatlain was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas, which covers parts of bluish Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As in his erstwhile posting, helium worked intimately with Indigenous radical successful communities like Grand Rapids First Nation, Grand Hill First Nation and Lac Brochet, helium said.

"They made maine a amended priest," Chatlain said. "They helped maine to admit that the spiritual satellite is with america each the clip … [and] to admit that idiosyncratic dedicated to God is simply a gift." 

'We're reconciling now'

Just arsenic the bluish communities wherever helium worked left a lasting interaction connected Chatlain, immoderate of his erstwhile parishioners successful those communities accidental the archbishop's enactment moved the needle on reconciliation with the Catholic Church. 

"I ever called him a 'bush bishop,'" said Bernard Wood of St. Theresa Point First Nation. "Every clip erstwhile I get person to [him] I consciousness arsenic if I americium adjacent Jesus, feeling warmth … feeling that kindness and knowing of what we are going through."

His narration with Chatlain spans years. During that time, Wood said the archbishop's enactment successful his northeastern Manitoba First Nation started with listening to the changes the congregation said they needed successful order to consciousness person to the Catholic Church.

"He worked with us.… He guided america connected however we tin bash things," Wood said. "We saw that helium was person to us."

During Chatlain's tenure, parishioners successful Wood's congregation introduced smudges astatine religion burials and masses. An eagle feather is present held erstwhile idiosyncratic reads a Bible transition and a drum, utilized during services, is kept wrong the church.

"We're praying to the aforesaid 1 God, 1 Creator," said Wood. "We conscionable don't privation to permission retired what we're taught.… It's portion of our contented arsenic well."

That's a stark opposition to his upbringing. Wood is simply a subsister of Assiniboia Residential School in Winnipeg and says flashbacks from the years helium spent determination inactive haunt him. 

Reconciliation with the Catholic Church starts by reclaiming the spiritual abstraction helium was raised in, helium said.

"This assemblage wants ownership of what's happening wrong our church.… We privation to belong," said Wood. "We cognize we tin bash it."

It is simply a dilatory process, but Chatlain's enactment is simply a measurement toward healing, helium said.

"We're reconciling close now."

That feeling is shared by Simon Samuel, a First Nations Catholic parishioner successful Lac Brochet, who said Chatlain helped marque changes astatine the religion in the remote northwestern Manitoba community.

Samuel, too, is simply a subsister of Canada's residential schoolhouse system, who attended the Guy Hill schoolhouse adjacent The Pas. 

Over the decades, priests stood successful the mode of First Nations taste celebrations similar prima creation ceremonies, helium said. Those traditions were characterized arsenic "evil" by church leaders, who went to the grade of burning immoderate of their drums, said Samuel.

In the 60 years that person passed since then, helium said immoderate clerics person apologized for the harm done by the church. But Chatlain's instalment as archbishop successful bluish Manitoba brought much change.

"He wanted to get progressive with First Nations. He wanted to instrumentality portion of it, and helium adjacent told his priests to instrumentality portion of that arsenic well," Samuel said. 

The archbishop and different clerics started participating successful sweat lodges and the yearly sharing ellipse of erstwhile Guy Hill residential schoolhouse students. 

Few others had done it earlier him, Samuel said, and his information astatine those events is important to physique relationships to assistance First Nations heal.

"A batch of priests did a batch of damage," helium said. "We request to enactment together. It means a batch to me. Instead of putting hatred betwixt each other, we request to reconcile together."

Church 'trying to bash better': scholar

A Winnipeg Catholic student says this isn't the archetypal clip the archdiocese has had a person for whom reconciliation is simply a focus.

Chatlain's predecessor, Rev. Richard Gagnon, who resigned past year, was besides the caput of the Canadian Congress of Catholic Bishops, and successful that role was "heavily involved" successful getting Pope Francis to sojourn Canada to present his apology for residential schools, according to Christopher Adams.

"[Chatlain] is reinforcing the enactment that's been done before," said Adams, who is rector of Manitoba's lone Catholic college, St. Paul's College. 

"We person to truly physique connected that, due to the fact that we can't gaffe backwards successful this area." 

Daniel McLeod, manager of the Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies astatine the University of Manitoba, said reconciliation efforts have been hindered successful the past by a deficiency of authenticity successful the relationships the religion built with Indigenous people.

But the enactment of radical like Chatlain moves the religion successful a antithetic direction, helium said.

"These appointments of the caller archbishops who are funny successful [reconciliation], it truly does amusement that the religion is trying to bash amended connected this front," McLeod said.