Residential school survivors reflect on the legacy of Pope Francis

Jackie McKay · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 12:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

The archetypal clip Piita Irniq was connected a level helium was 11 and was taken much than 400 kilometres from his household and the lone spot helium had ever known. 

"I near a small Inuit boy, each dressed up successful Inuit accepted clothing, sealskin boots," said Irniq. 

He was taken from Naujaat, Nunavut, on with galore different children and brought to Catholic-run Turquetil Hall in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, to attend school. 

"That aforesaid day, I became a small achromatic boy," said Irniq. 

For much than 30 years, Irniq has sought justness from the Catholic Church for survivors of residential school, and was part of a delegation to Rome successful 2009 to talk with Pope Benedict. 

But Pope Francis is the 1 that earned Irniq's respect. 

"He took a courageous determination and came to Canada to conscionable with the Indigenous radical of Canada," said Irniq.

"I respect him for that." 

Francis, the archetypal pope from Latin America and the archetypal from the Jesuit order, died connected Monday morning, the Vatican said.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became known arsenic Pope Francis erstwhile helium was elected successful March 2013. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, successful its 2015 calls to action, called upon the Pope to travel to Canada to deliver an apology to residential schoolhouse survivors, their families and communities for the Roman Catholic Church's relation successful the abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children successful Catholic-run residential schools.

The Catholic Church ran implicit fractional of the residential schools successful Canada. 

Francis came to Canada successful July 2022 connected a "penitential pilgrimage" that included an apology "for the evil committed by truthful galore Christians against the Indigenous peoples."

The visit included stops successful Alberta, Quebec, and Iqaluit.

Irniq was a taste organizer for the Iqaluit limb of the papal visit. 

He gave Francis an Inuit manus drum, and performed a drum creation connected signifier earlier the Pope spoke to the assemblage successful Iqaluit. 

Irniq was besides portion of a tiny radical of survivors who had a backstage gathering with Francis, wherever helium said helium did his champion to talk connected behalf of his parents, and each the different parents who had children taken from them. 

"As a survivor, his sojourn inactive has an impact, a batch of impact, with the mode I deliberation astir [Pope Francis]," said Irniq. 

'I can't accidental capable however grateful I am'

Francis's sojourn and apology besides had an interaction connected Métis elder Angie Crerar, a subsister of St. Joseph's residential schoolhouse successful Fort Resolution, N.W.T.

"I can't accidental capable however grateful I americium of that," said Crerar. 

Crerar was portion of the Métis National Council's delegation to Rome successful 2022 wherever she met Francis, an acquisition she says was life-changing. 

"[I] was truthful aggravated and I hated everyone, particularly the Catholic Church and besides the government," said Crerar. 

But she said when she met Francis and told him astir her acquisition astatine residential schoolhouse she felt the choler permission her body, and she started to consciousness astatine peace. 

"I learned close past and present however to forgive," said Crerar. 

Not capable enactment from church, says survivor

At the clip of the apology, erstwhile Truth and Reconciliation Commission seat Murray Sinclair was captious of the Pope's statement, saying it had "left a heavy spread successful the acknowledgement of the afloat relation of the Church successful the residential schoolhouse system, by placing blasted connected idiosyncratic members of the Church."

"It was much than the enactment of a fewer atrocious actors — this was a concerted organization effort to region children from their families and cultures, each successful the sanction of Christian supremacy," helium said successful a statement.

Some residential schoolhouse survivors say the papal sojourn did small for their healing and his words meant little. 

"Healing requires action, and determination has been nary action," said Evelyn Korkmaz, a subsister of St. Anne's residential schoolhouse successful Fort Albany, Ont., and a laminitis of Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors successful Canada. 

When Korkmaz met Francis in Quebec during his 2022 visit, she said she gave him a container and asked him to enactment the documents connected those who attended residential schoolhouse successful it and nonstop it backmost to Canada. 

She said she hasn't seen the container since. 

"We request them to merchandise the documents that they clasp successful Rome truthful we tin find our loved ones that person been buried successful our schoolyards and find retired however they died," said Korkmaz. 

Real justice, said Korkmaz, comes successful the signifier of accountability and for the religion to springiness up the members who carried retired maltreatment toward Indigenous people. 

"They request to wage for their crimes, conscionable similar immoderate 1 of america would person to wage if we did thing similar this," said Korkmaz. 

Reconciliation bigger than Pope Francis 

Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc has been astatine the forefront of advocating for accountability from the Catholic Church. 

The findings of much than 200 imaginable unmarked graves astatine the tract of Kamloops Indian Residential School sparked a nationwide question to hunt the grounds of erstwhile residential schools. 

Casimir went to the Vatican successful 2022 arsenic portion of the Assembly of First Nations delegation, to advocate for the children that went missing astatine residential schools. Casimir said the caller pope volition request to marque wide mandates and commitments to Indigenous people.

"Reconciliation with Indigenous radical successful the Catholic Church transcends immoderate azygous person, and it is simply a travel that each of america tin instrumentality a relation in," said Casimir.