General Audience: Review of Journey to Canada

After a four-week summer break, Pope Francis resumed his weekly general audiences this Wednesday. Meeting with pilgrims in the Vatican Audience Hall, the Pope recalled his 37th Apostolic Journey, which took him to Canada in the last week of July.

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Silvia Kritzenberger – Vatican City

To the applause of those present, Pope Francis entered the audience hall for the first time in a long time, leaning on a stick. In the last few weeks, he has always had to use a wheelchair for public appointments because of his knee problems – and the trip to Canada was no exception.

A journey like no other…

“It was a journey like no other. The main motivation was to meet the indigenous peoples there, to express my closeness, my regrets and to ask their forgiveness for the suffering inflicted on them by the Christians who in the past participated in the forced assimilation and disenfranchisement policies of the governments of the time – including many Catholics,” the Pope introduced his review of the trip to Canada, which he had previously described as a “penitential pilgrimage”.

Focusing on the three major stages of this pilgrimage – Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit on the Arctic Ocean – Francis observed: “Together we have cherished the memory: the good memory of the thousand-year history of these peoples who lived in harmony with their land: that’s one of the most beautiful things about these indigenous peoples, the harmony with the earth. They never trample on creation, never! In harmony with the earth. And we also heard the painful memory of the mistreatment they had to endure in boarding schools as a result of the cultural assimilation policy.”

Live in harmony with creation

It is therefore a question of finding a healthy balance and “restoring the harmony between modernity and ancestral cultures, between secularization and spiritual values,” said Francis, who also reaffirmed the will of the Holy See, “to encourage indigenous cultures on appropriate spiritual paths and taking into account the customs and languages ​​of these peoples.”

The last meeting on Canadian soil – the encounter with young and old people from the Inuit tribe – remains a special memory for him: “I can assure you that during these meetings – especially this last one – I felt the pain of these people like a slap in the face got… old people who lost their children, who didn’t know what became of their children because of this assimilation policy. It was a very painful moment, but we had to face it: We have to face our mistakes, our sins!” demanded the Church leader.

He closed the address at the first general audience after the summer break with the following wish:

“May the bravery and peaceful action of the indigenous peoples of Canada be an example to all indigenous peoples not to close themselves off, but to make their indispensable contribution to a brotherly humanity that knows how to love creation and the Creator; in harmony with creation, in harmony among men. Thanks.”

(vaticannews)

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