Colonization, the sins against Indigenous people
didn't disappear in 2015
when Pope Francis arrived in Bolivia
to express sorrow and regret.
The apology was a huge moment
a heartfelt long fought for moment.
A simple apology is not the way to erase our entire historical past
all the oppression carried out for five hundred plus years.
Jesus Oscari Humeraz is Amayran
among the 40 per cent of people in Bolivia who are Indigenous.
And he says, among a sizeable group unmoved by the pope’s regret.
See that graffiti it's on a wall near where Indigenous protesters were killed
it effectively bellows that the church is associated with violence and danger.
Humeraz is acutely aware of the trauma at home
and in Canada he says news of the rediscovery of those unmarked graves
rocked Bolivia too but expecting a trip to the Vatican
and an apology to help ease the trauma forget it.
If our brothers in Canada are going to visit him
I don't know exactly but I just don't see
I just don't agree with it it's like if someone killed your children
your ancestors, your fathers, your mothers
and I think in the name of dignity you just shouldn't join those spaces.
His anger is palpable.
And those in Canada pushing hard for a papal apology
now know all about it and the risks of great expectations.
So, does the Church.
They're going to walk into those meetings
and they're going to have lots of things to say and Pope Francis wants to hear it.
Canadian Michael Swan is with the Catholic Register is in Rome now
and he says the pope knows his role with the delegations is to listen.
It's one thing to know about the residential schools
it's another thing to sit with a survivor and hear their story
know what happened in their family
know what happened in their community from there.
That's what he wants he wants.
That direct experience of their suffering.
An apology won't likely come at these meetings
but the signs are that this is a prelude to that happening in Canada this year.
The pope may also be sending a message to bishops in this country
he needs them to hear that he's he understands the crisis the church is in Canada
and that he wants them to do better
he wants them to do more than raise 30 million dollars
and make the media shut up.
We took away their language
what do we do now we do whatever we can with them for them.
To restore that language.
The idea that an apology that comes with real work
could make a difference also has precedence in Bolivia
Carlos Cordero is a Bolivian political science professor catholic
and of mestizo heritage.
He was there that day to witness the apology
and says the presence of the pope was a lift to dignity.
The apology and the presence of the pope
encourage the advancement of indigenous people
and equal participation in all forms of governmental and social life.
He says to see Evo Morales
the first indigenous president of Bolivia call the pope my Papa went a long way
to soothing serious and enduring hurt
so too was the measure of the words.
Unlike a past apology by Pope John Paul II in 1992 in the Americas
which was seen as vague Pope Francis's words were specific.
This too an important lesson for the Canadian context
the catholic church in Canada eager it seems to find a way
to not just apologize forcefully
find a way to keep the faith connected with First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.
And when you heal you're free of all your heavy feelings.
Consider mass in North Vancouver, BC
one that fully integrates the symbols in culture and language
particular to the Squamish people of this community.
And you'll become stronger in your hearts when you pray.
Deacon Rennie Nahanee is an elder in the Squamish Nation.
His sermon this Sunday about healing about the church
is a place where that can happen.
To be indigenous and catholic
he says is a struggle.
I belong to that church that did those things
but I can't leave it because the church I grew up
I learned from my elders who also went to residential school
the trauma it's still there it's unresolved.
He will be at home when the delegations are in Rome
but he'll be watching carefully
knows what he needs to see and hear.
We need our culture our language, our spirituality
which was taken away from us by the church
we want the church to return that to us.
There is hard emotional work ahead
and an apology may serve as a step, hardly a solution.