St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kamloops, Canada, in February 2015. Credit: Alan Levine via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
Kamloops, Canada, Jun 7, 2021 / 14:00 pm
The chief of the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, or Kamloops Indian Band, has condemned the vandalism of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Kamloops shortly after the discovery of indigenous children’s graves at a nearby Church-run residential school.
“We are deeply disturbed to learn that the Saint Joseph’s church was vandalized. The church was built from the ground up by Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc members. We understand the many emotions connected to a Roman Catholic run residential school. At the same time, we respect the choices that Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc ancestors made, over a 100 years ago, to erect this church,” read a May 31 statement from Rosanne Casimir, the band’s chief.
On the weekend of May 22, the remains of 215 indigenous children were found in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The discovery was made with ground-penetrating radar. It is unclear how the children died.
Graffiti reading ‘banished’, ‘evicted’, and ‘crime scene’ was found spray painted on the walls of St. Joseph’s May 31. An ‘X’ was on the front doors.
By the next day the graffiti had largely been cleaned off, Kamloops This Week reported.
The residential school in Kamloops operated from 1890 until 1978. The school was administered by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1893 until 1969, when the Canadian government took control of the school again. At that point, the school building operated as a residence for First Nations children who were attending area day schools. The residence was closed in 1978.
The Kamloops school was at one point the largest school in the entire residential school system, which was established in Canada beginning in the 1870s and was overseen by the Catholic Church and Protestant ecclesial communities. The last operating residential school closed in 1996.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission which operated from 2008 until 2015 reported on a history of abuses in the system. Children from First Nations and other indigenous communities were separated from their families and placed in the residential schools as a means of forcible assimilation and enculturation. An estimated 4,100 to 6,000 First Nations and other indigenous children died as a result of neglect or abuse in the system, the commission found.
One of the calls of the commission was for a papal apology “to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools.”
In a 2017 meeting with the pope, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize for the treatment ofiIndigenous children in the schools.
Pope Francis on June 6 expressed sorrow over the discovery of the unmarked graves at the site of the Kamloops school, and prayed for all children who died in the residential school system.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver has expressed a “deep apology and profound condolences to the families and communities that have been devastated” by the discovery at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Archbishop Miller repeated his 2013 apology to the indigenous populations for the abuses that occurred in Church-run residential schools, saying that he remains “committed and accountable” to those words.
“I wish to apologize sincerely and profoundly to the survivors and their families, as well as to those subsequently affected, for the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of those Catholics who perpetrated mistreatment of any kind in these residential schools,” said Archbishop Miller.
Archbishop Miller said that “the Church was unquestionably wrong in implementing a government colonialist policy which resulted in devastation for children, families and communities,” and that his apologies “must be accompanied by tangible actions that foster the full disclosure of the truth.”
Archbishop Miller pledged to be “fully transparent with our archives and records regarding all residential schools.”
He said that records related to the Kamloops Indian Residential School, located in the territory of the archdiocese until 1945 when the Diocese of Kamloops was created, were given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
“We commit to supporting the same process and resources to all Nations in whose territories Catholic-run residential schools were forcibly located, and which fall within the historical boundaries of the Archdiocese of Vancouver,” he said.
Bishop Joseph Nguyen of Kamloops issued a statement May 28 saying he was “heartbroken and horrified” by the discovery of the children’s remains.
“I express my deepest sympathy … to all who are mourning this tragedy and unspeakable loss,” said Bishop Nguyen. “No words of sorrow could adequately describe this horrific discovery.”
Bishop Nguyen said that he offered his “personal support, prayers and accompaniment to our First Nations community in Kamloops and beyond.”
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Boston, Mass., Oct 26, 2022 / 07:45 am (CNA).
The pandemic’s negative effect on learning was more pronounced among fourth- and eighth-graders at public schools than among their Catholic school counterparts, a… […]
Pope Francis presides at the Vatican’s chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Mar 28, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).
On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis presided over a chrism Mass at which more than 1,880 priests, bishops, and cardinals renewed the promises made at their ordinations.
Pope Francis encouraged the priests to turn their gaze upon the crucified Lord and to weep over their sins in repentance, saying that tears can “purify and heal the heart.”
“Once we recognize our sin, our hearts can be opened to the working of the Holy Spirit, the source of living water that wells up within us and brings tears to our eyes,” Francis said on March 28.
Pope Francis speaks at the Vatican’s chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
“The Lord seeks, especially in those consecrated to him, men and women who weep for the sins of the Church and the world and become intercessors on behalf of all,” he added.
Forty-two cardinals, 42 bishops, and 1,800 priests living in Rome concelebrated the Mass with the pope in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Holy Thursday marks the institution of the Eucharist and institution of the sacrament of the priesthood at the Last Supper. Pope Francis will also preside over a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening at a women’s prison in Rome.
The 87-year-old pope arrived in St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday morning in a wheelchair. Before giving his more than 20-minute homily, the pope took a sip of water and put on his reading glasses.
Pope Francis reflected in his homily on Peter’s tears after denying the Lord three times as recorded in the Gospel of Luke: “Peter remembered the word of the Lord … and went out and wept bitterly.”
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis presides at the altar during the Vatican’s chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
“Dear brother priests, the healing of the heart of Peter, the healing of the apostle, the healing of the pastor, came about when, grief-stricken and repentant, he allowed himself to be forgiven by Jesus. That healing took place amid tears, bitter weeping, and the sorrow that leads to renewed love,” he said.
Compunction
Pope Francis said that he wanted to speak to the priests about the importance of compunction — an awareness of guilt due to sin — which the pope admitted is a “somewhat old-fashioned” term and “an aspect of the spiritual life that has been somewhat neglected, yet remains essential.”
The pope added that compunction “is not a sense of guilt that makes us discouraged or obsessed with our unworthiness, but a beneficial ‘piercing’ that purifies and heals the heart.”
“Compunction demands effort but bestows peace. It is not a source of anxiety but of healing for the soul, since it acts as a balm upon the wounds of sin, preparing us to receive the caress of the heavenly physician, who transforms the ‘broken, contrite heart,’” Pope Francis said.
Clergy assembled at the Vatican’s Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
The pope said that through compunction “the natural tendency to be indulgent with ourselves and inflexible with others is overturned and, by God’s grace, we become strict with ourselves and merciful toward others.”
“Weeping for ourselves … means seriously repenting for saddening God by our sins … It means looking within and repenting of our ingratitude and inconstancy, and acknowledging with sorrow our duplicity, dishonesty, and hypocrisy — clerical hypocrisy, dear brothers, that hypocrisy which we slip into so much — beware of clerical hypocrisy,” Francis said.
“How greatly we need to be set free from harshness and recrimination, selfishness and ambition, rigidity and frustration, in order to entrust ourselves completely to God and to find in him the calm that shields us from the storms raging all around us,” he added.
“Let us pray, intercede, and shed tears for others; in this way, we will allow the Lord to work his miracles. And let us not fear, for he will surely surprise us.”
During the Vatican’s chrism Mass, the pope, as the bishop of Rome, blessed the oil of the sick, the oil of catechumens, and the chrism oil, which will be used in the diocese during the coming year. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis served as the celebrant at the altar.
The oils were processed up the main altar of St. Peter’s in large silver urns as the hymns of the Sistine Chapel Choir filled the basilica.
Urns of oil are displayed at the Vatican’s Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis prayed over the oil of the sick: “O God, Father of all consolation, who through your Son have willed to heal the infirmities of the sick, listen favorably to this prayer of faith: Send down from heaven, we pray, your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, upon the rich substance of this oil, which you were pleased to bring forth from vigorous green trees to restore our bodies, so that by your holy blessing this oil may be for anyone who is anointed with it a safeguard for body, mind, and spirit, to take away every pain, every infirmity, and every sickness.”
The blessed oil will be used for the anointing of the sick in Rome throughout the year.
Pope Francis thanked the priests gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for all they do to bring “the miracle of God’s mercy” to the world today.
“Dear priests, thank you for your open and docile hearts; thank you for your labors and thank you for your tears; thank you because you bring the miracle of mercy … you bring God to the brothers and sisters of our time,” he said. “Dear priests, may the Lord console you, confirm you, and reward you.”
At his Angelus address June 9, 2024, Pope Francis asked people to pray for the people who are suffering in Myanmar and in Ukraine, giving a special shoutout to some Ukrainians who were in the crowd waving flags. / Credit: Vatican Media
We have moved from a “mass grave” to “unmarked graves.” There is a considerable difference.
Has a researcher bothered going through the records to see who the dead children are? Was there an epidemic, or more than one, that might account for the deaths? Or is it just easier to place blame without an investigation?
I am grateful to Rosanne Casimir, Tkemlups chief, for her protest against vandalism of the local (Tkemlups-built) Catholic church. Vandalism is not going to help anybody, it shouldn’t be necessary to say.
I am totally weary of those who continue to make a cottage industry of “victimization”. The media trumpeted the “finding” of these graves as if the children were systematically murdered by the priests and nuns who cared for them. That to my knowledge has NEVER been proven. What is well known is that native populations, including children, often were much more susceptible to “white” diseases like small pox, typhus and other diseases which swept through populations and small towns,killing many (not unlike covid) white folks included. Further, the schools were often in place for many many decades, thus many graves would be in one location.It is now long acknowledged that trying to force Natives into white culture and language did not serve them well. As I understand it, Indian children , at least in reservation areas, are now being taught those very Indian languages and cultural touch-stones. It is however, pointless and absurd to try to judge actions and attitudes of another century by today’s very different standards. What happened is past and cannot be changed. The lessons are already clear, changes implimented. Lets move on. Finally, the Catholic church does not have , and never did have , a monopoly on sex abuse predators. These moral degenerates are to be found in every race, religion and occupation. Again, lets drop the media generated sensationalization and move on.Continued harping on the issue is resolving nothing and generating violence such as burning down and vandalizing churches.
We have moved from a “mass grave” to “unmarked graves.” There is a considerable difference.
Has a researcher bothered going through the records to see who the dead children are? Was there an epidemic, or more than one, that might account for the deaths? Or is it just easier to place blame without an investigation?
I am grateful to Rosanne Casimir, Tkemlups chief, for her protest against vandalism of the local (Tkemlups-built) Catholic church. Vandalism is not going to help anybody, it shouldn’t be necessary to say.
I am totally weary of those who continue to make a cottage industry of “victimization”. The media trumpeted the “finding” of these graves as if the children were systematically murdered by the priests and nuns who cared for them. That to my knowledge has NEVER been proven. What is well known is that native populations, including children, often were much more susceptible to “white” diseases like small pox, typhus and other diseases which swept through populations and small towns,killing many (not unlike covid) white folks included. Further, the schools were often in place for many many decades, thus many graves would be in one location.It is now long acknowledged that trying to force Natives into white culture and language did not serve them well. As I understand it, Indian children , at least in reservation areas, are now being taught those very Indian languages and cultural touch-stones. It is however, pointless and absurd to try to judge actions and attitudes of another century by today’s very different standards. What happened is past and cannot be changed. The lessons are already clear, changes implimented. Lets move on. Finally, the Catholic church does not have , and never did have , a monopoly on sex abuse predators. These moral degenerates are to be found in every race, religion and occupation. Again, lets drop the media generated sensationalization and move on.Continued harping on the issue is resolving nothing and generating violence such as burning down and vandalizing churches.