'I really want him to feel the horror': B.C. chiefs, survivors react to news of forthcoming papal visit
Chief Harvey McLeod already knows what he would say to the Pope, if he ever had the chance to meet him.
"My first words would be, that 'while I was at that school, I talked to your God and told him to leave me alone,'" said McLeod, chief of the Upper Nicola Band and a survivor of the Kamloops Residential School.
McLeod, who has talked openly about suffering abuse, and about how the priests and nuns at the school tried to erase his identity, reacted to news that the pontiff planned to visit Canada, with a sense of relief.
"The church has finally heard," McLeod said.
For Chief Jen Thomas of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, whose father Stanley also survived residential schools, the announcement was a shock.
"Our survivors have been waiting for this and we just thought it wasn’t going to happen," Thomas said, calling her reaction "mixed."
The Vatican has not indicated whether Pope Francis plans to make a formal apology for the Catholic church’s role in running the majority of residential schools.
Those schools, including the Kamloops school, where the unmarked graves of about 215 children were discovered in May, forcibly took more than 150,000 Indigenous children from their families for over a century.
In a two sentence statement, the Vatican said the trip would be a journey "in the context of the long-standing pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples."
It said the date would be "settled in due course."
Thomas and McLeod agreed that whenever the pontiff visits, and wherever he travels in Canada, they will expect more than words.
"I really want him to feel the horror and the anger that we all feel about how we were treated in these institutions," McLeod said.
"And he's not going to get that until he looks into the eye of a survivor and says 'yes, I hear you and I am I sincerely apologizing,'" he added.
"It’s the actions that we need to see," Thomas said.
"Is the pope apologizing for our survivors, or is he apologizing because he needs to do it for himself?" she questioned.
McLeod, who has talked about his personal journey from anger to forgiveness, said he hoped the visit would provide another opening to undo some of the long-lasting damage done to his family and his community by a system often referred to as cultural genocide.
"What can we do to correct? What can we do to move forward?" McLeod asked.
"In this country we’ve been talking reconciliation, and it’s so easy to use but at the same time so difficult to understand."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.