A memorial for those who attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School gathered flowers in the days following the announcement of over 200 unmarked graves near the school in May 2021.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The Pope has indicated he plans to travel to Canada and Tk'emlups leadership is again calling for an official apology along with action on reconciliation.

Tk'emlups te Secwepemc chief and council is seeking an apology for the Catholic Church's role in the Indian residential school system, along with a full disclosure of documents and a contribution of funds to aid survivors, according to a news release.

While the Holy See has not indicated when Pope Francis would visit Canada — nor did the statement say where he would visit — Chief Rosanne Casimir said a visit to Tk'emlups to Secwepemc would be a "historic" moment.

“It would be deeply meaningful to welcome the Holy See, Pope Francis, to Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, as our heart wrenching news was the first of the wave of confirmations of unmarked graves with thousands more lives lost coming to light," Casimir said in the release.

Tk'emlups is the site of over 200 unmarked graves suspected to be former students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School still standing near the banks of the South Thompson River.

Ground penetrating radar work this spring showed anomalies in the earth that indicated graves of children, and has sparked renewed calls for action on reconciliation across the country.

While the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has handed their own apology to Indigenous peoples for the Church's role in the Indian residential school system, Call to Action 58 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission demands an apology to survivors from the top level of the Roman Catholic Church.

Indigenous peoples are still waiting for that apology.

The Canadian Conference Catholic of Catholic Bishops president, Most Rev. Raymond Poisson, said he hopes a visit from Pope Francis to Canada would be a "significant milestone" toward reconciliation.

Catholic leaders in B.C. expressed their own personal apology in the wake of the findings near the school grounds earlier this year, including Kamloops Bishop Joseph Nguyen and Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also asked the Pope to consider issuing an apology in 2017. 

John Paul II is the only pope to have visited Canada, which he did three times.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2021