Last month, Pope Francis came to Canada and expressed regret for the Roman Catholic Church’s part in running notoriously abusive residential schools for Indigenous children, which operated between 1880 and 1996. “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” the pope said. Canada’s own government has previously Read more
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Pope Francis on Friday, thanking him for his prayers and humanitarian support. Ukrainians would be glad to welcome him if he were able to visit, Zelenskyy told the pope. Francis had already mooted the idea, telling journalists on his return flight from Canada last month that he would like Read more
Pope Francis has told Catholic youth not to be afraid to make mistakes when on mission. He made the comment last weekend when speaking to the young people gathered for the “Hechos 29” youth conference in Mexico. “I never tire of repeating that I prefer a church that is wounded because it goes out to Read more
When Pope Francis gave his first full-length interview after his election in 2013, he was asked about the importance of the church providing solid points of reference in a rapidly changing world. The new pope pulled out his thumb-worn breviary and read out a Latin quote from a fifth-century French monk. Highlighting the words of Read more
Pope Francis’ six-day pastoral visit to Canada was a great success. It wasn’t until the news conference on the plane back to Rome that it became clear he wasn’t properly briefed for his visit. Francis, in Canada on what he called a penitential pilgrimage, apologized to the Indigenous peoples of the country for the Catholic Church’s Read more
“Could the Church teaching on contraception change?” a journalist asked Pope Francis on Saturday during his return flight to Rome from Canada. “This is very timely,” Francis replied. “But know that dogma, morality, is always in a path of development, but development in the same direction.” Tradition can really be preserved and handed down only Read more
A chief’s gift of an eagle feather headdress to the pope during his penitential tour of Canada is shocking many commentators. They include indigenous peoples from across the world. One, Hemopereki Simon, is a research expert in indigenous politics and Te Tiriti. “I have survived the settler colonial education system and have come out on Read more
The Doctrine of Discovery is making headlines, especially in Canada. Numerous individuals and groups want it gone. The Doctrine is a collection of papal teachings beginning in the 14th century. The teachings (called papal bulls) blessed explorers’ efforts to colonise and claim the lands of any people who were not Christian. The explorers would then Read more
Pope Francis’ trip to Canada to apologise for the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools marks a radical rethink of the Catholic Church’s missionary legacy, spurred on by the first pope from the Americas and the discovery of hundreds of probable graves at the school sites. Francis has said his weeklong visit, which begins Sunday, Read more
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission into the historic abuse of Indigenous people demanded apologies. Pope Francis apologised on Monday. Not everyone thinks it was enough. Some regard Francis’s words as a “historic” moment of reckoning for the 150,000 Indigenous students forced to attend residential schools. But a former judge and senator who chaired the 2015 Read more