Indigenous leaders in British Columbia expressed disappointment Friday that Pope Francis’ trip to Canada will not include a stop in their province.
Pope Francis will be in Canada from July 24-29, making stops in Quebec City, Edmonton and Iqaluit.
The absence of stops in BC on the itinerary is not lost on Chief Rosanne Casimir of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, where the discovery of more than 200 possible burial sites on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School triggered investigations elsewhere in Canada. .
“This is a missed opportunity to come to ‘ground zero’ and hear directly from survivors, intergenerational survivors, and offer more words of apology, retribution and reconciliation,” Casimir said in a statement.
In a statement, Terry Teegee, regional head of the BC Assembly of First Nations, called on the Pope to review his plans.
“This egregious oversight must be rectified immediately,” he said in a statement.
Archbishop Richard Smith, coordinator of the papal visit to Canada, said the trip has been limited to just three “hubs” due to mobility problems for the pope.
The 85-year-old pontiff recently canceled a scheduled trip to Lebanon and was photographed in a wheelchair for the first time.
“What’s really driving this is the pope’s limited ability to move,” Smith said from Edmonton on Friday.
“The Vatican was very, very clear: when you come to a country, you can’t get around by helicopter, you can’t be in a car for more than an hour, you can’t be in a different place every night.”
Federal Minister for Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu said Friday that the government welcomes the pope’s visit, but plans for where he will visit are up to the Vatican.
There are 139 former residential school sites across Canada, most of them run by the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is expected to visit some of them and repeat the apology he gave when indigenous leaders visited him in Rome.
Casimir is disappointed that the pope has no plans to visit the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, the country’s largest residential school run by the Roman Catholic Church, or other sites in the province where unmarked graves have been found.
“He hasn’t acknowledged the invitations to come and meet with us and really walk those significant steps forward,” he said.
Casimir said there is an open invitation for the pope to visit the site at any time, noting that there is an airport 15 minutes from the community.
“I’m going to hold on to a little bit of hope,” he said.
Support is available to anyone affected by their experience in residential schools or recent reports.
A National Crisis Line for Indian Residential Schools has been established to provide support to former students and those affected. People can access crisis and emotional referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Reference-www.cbc.ca