Niagara officials, Catholic educators demand Pope Francis apology on residential schools

Elected officials in St. Catharines, Ont., and more than 100 Catholic educators and school staff in Niagara call on Pope Francis to apologize after the detections of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Liberal MP Chris Bittle, NDP MPP Jennie Stevens and Mayor Walter Sendzik sent a letter to Gerard Bergie, the bishop of St. Catharines, on Tuesday asking him to demand that the Pope apologize.

The letter says Bergie's and other bishops' voices can "ensure the Catholic Church acknowledges its role in the residential school system and advances our steps along the path of reconciliation."

Bittle said in a Wednesday morning interview it was an opportunity for the politicians to "use our voices."

Their calls are compounded by a letter with signatures from 117 educators and staff at the Niagara Catholic District School Board.

"Failure to accept this responsibility will only exacerbate the pain and suffering of these families and tarnish the image of the Church," reads the letter.

"We are asking the Church to act in the way that Jesus taught us and in the way that we do our best to teach our students to act; with honour, integrity, love and the image of Christ."

Andrew Chase, a science teacher at Saint Michael Catholic High School in Niagara Falls, said he drafted the letter and believes even more people would have signed it if they had known about it.

He said he doesn't want to vilify the church, but wants it to be accountable.

The school board's director said in a statement the board is "supporting staff as they follow their conscience on this matter."

Local bishop says Catholic Church can do more

Some Catholic entities in Canada have apologized, but the Vatican has not.

Bergie previously expressed "profound sorrow and regret for all the pain and suffering experienced by children who were forced to attend these schools run by Catholic bishops, priests and nuns."

"It is a dark period of our history and one that we can never forget," the bishop said in a statement.

When asked for a response, the Diocese of St. Catharines sent a link to an opinion piece Bergie wrote in the St. Catharines Standard that shared similar sentiments.

In it, he writes while the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) addressed the Roman Catholic Church in Canada in its calls to action, there is no Catholic Church of Canada, which is why there have been apologies from various religious orders, dioceses and bishops.

"As a diverse Church, we are answering these calls; however, more can be done," he wrote, pointing to a call in the TRC to have the Pope apologize.

"For the past two years, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has been working with the Vatican in response to this call. It is hoped that in the very near future, a delegation of Indigenous people will meet with Pope Francis in Rome in order to foster meaningful encounters of dialogue and healing," reads the piece.

MP says statement doesn't go far enough

Bittle said he gives Bergie credit, but the statement doesn't go far enough.

"For many, they want to see their church leaders push harder and fulfil the call to action but also, compensation and recognizing all documents related to residential schools need to be released," he said.

In a previous interview, Winnipeg Archbishop Richard Gagnon said the Pope can't instruct Catholic entities to hand over records.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders will meet with the Pope separately between Dec. 17 and 20, culminating in a final papal audience on Dec. 20 with the entire Indigenous delegation.