Pope Francis on Thursday said the Catholic Church felt 'the burden of failure' for its role in running government-backed residential schools that tried to wipe out indigenous cultures and became places of abuse.
Pope Francis attends a Mass at the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada July 28, 2022.
"In confronting the scandal of evil and the Body of Christ wounded in the flesh of our indigenous brothers and sisters, we too have experienced deep dismay; we too feel the burden of failure," the pope said."Why did all this happen? How could this happen in the community of those who follow Jesus?" Since then, the pope has said the Church is "admitting our faults" and also warned against "defending the institution rather than seeking the truth" on what happened at the schools.
About three-quarters of the 1,400 spots inside the basilica were given to residential school survivors and other indigenous people while thousands of others watched the Mass on giant television screens outside. Overall, it was the biggest turnout since the pope arrived on Monday.'STEP TOWARD HEALING'
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