Trudeau: Pope must apologize after nearly 1,000 graves found | World News | The Christian Post
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize after 751 more unmarked graves were found at the site of what was once that country s residential school under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church to assimilate indigenous people.
I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa Friday, the day after a preliminary report revealed that an additional 751 unmarked graves were found near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, bringing the number to 966, Reuters reported.
I know that the Catholic Church leadership is looking and very actively engaged in what next steps can be taken, Trudeau added.
Last month, the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were found buried under an area on which Kamloops Indian Residential School stood in British Columbia, which was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system that was closed in 1978, the BBC reported at the time.