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ASSEMBLY of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Phil
Fontaine made an historic plea for reconciliation with the Catholic Church
while speaking to a gathering of bishops in late September.
“What I want to talk about here is the
future,” Fontaine told about 80 bishops attending the Canadian
Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (CCCB) annual plenary in Cornwall,
Ontario.
Fontaine said he hoped the church could use her
influence and experience to help lift First Nations out of poverty,
acknowledging that in the past First Nations and the church had
accomplished much good together, despite the legacy of abuse at Indian
Residential Schools.
“I believe the Catholic church has a significant
role to play in helping us pave the way to something absolutely
better,” he said.
“I wonder whether we can ever do enough to heal
broken spirits. But that is the past.”
He described Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s
apology for Indian Residential Schools in the House of Commons last June as
a “momentous occasion” and an “opportunity to fix what
has been a terrible wrong.”
Reconciliation will require “big hearts,
forgiveness, trust and confidence,” he said.
“For our people, reconciliation means the
eradication of First Nations poverty,” he said, noting doing so would
require “the support and engagement of all Canadians.”
He said First Nations people did not need the Catholic
Church for her money, but for her influence, her experience and her
commitment.
“You understand us as well as anyone in this
country,” he said, noting the church knows “what is important
to us and where we want to take our communities.
“There are too many who don’t believe in
us, who see us as a relic of the past, who believe we have to be
transformed in order to be significant to this country,” he said.
“We know that you don’t believe that . . . I stand here
committed to working with you in rebuilding the historic relationship that
brought so much good to so many people.”
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“Sadly the experience of many was not
good,” he said. “I want to focus on what was good and learn
from that success in our collective experience.”
Fontaine spoke about a recent visit to the Cherokee
Nation in the United States and the positive experience they have had with
boarding schools.
“I see no reason why the Catholic Church
shouldn’t be involved in the education of our people,” he said.
In a news conference afterwards, Fontaine was asked
whether the Catholic Church should apologize for the abuse in residential
schools. He said the Prime Minister “was speaking on behalf of all
Canadians.”
He added: “Our big challenge is reconciliation.
We will never achieve reconciliation until poverty is
eradicated.”
– Deborah Gyapong,
Canadian Catholic News
November 2008
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