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Pope Francis calls for reconciliation, healing over Canada school discovery

The discovery last month of the remains of the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, which closed in 1978, has reopened old wounds and is fuelling outrage in Canada about the lack of information and accountability.

June 06, 2021 / 17:09 IST
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Reuters

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect of the rights and culture of native peoples.

He urged Canadian political and Catholic religious leaders to "cooperate with determination" to shed light on the finding and to seek reconciliation and healing. Francis said he felt close to "the Canadian people, who have been traumatized by the shocking news".

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Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, he stopped short, however, of the direct apology that many Canadians had demanded from the Catholic Church for its role in the residential schools, which operated between 1831 and 1996 and were run by a number of Christian denominations on behalf of the government.