Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Catholics involved in the reconciliation process over the Indian residential school system in Canada say continued understanding requires action. “It isn’t by making laws you are going to overcome racism,” said Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, president of 50 Catholic Entities, the legal body formed to respond to the litigation that led to the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. “Look at what’s continuing to happen in the United States with black Americans,” the archbishop, who leads the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan in Alberta, Canada, said. “You still have white cops killing black kids. A lot has to happen at the grass roots and for people to come to a conversion in their own hearts about the issues. That takes time.” The archbishop said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission members, who released their final report to the public on Dec. 15, also knew there was more work to do. The report built on an executive summary in June that referred to what happened to aboriginal Canadians in residential schools as “cultural genocide.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Norma Desmond’ and Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma’ in “Sunset Blvd” on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (photo: Marc Brenner).
Age and its relationship to stardom is the animating subject of “Sunset Blvd,” “Tammy Faye” and “Death Becomes Her.”
Rob Weinert-KendtNovember 22, 2024
What separates “Bonhoeffer” from the myriad instructive Holocaust biographies and melodramas is its timing.
John AndersonNovember 22, 2024
“Wicked” arrives on a whirlwind of eager (and anxious) anticipation among fans of the musical.
John DoughertyNovember 22, 2024
A touring relic will give the faithful in Washington and seven states a rare opportunity to venerate St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest Christian theologians.
Kurt Jensen – OSV NewsNovember 22, 2024