Pope Francis referred to the massacre of indigenous schoolchildren as a “genocide” during a press conference, the first time he has used the word to describe the killings in his trip to Canada.
The statement came Friday night during a press conference at a Canadian airport, when the pope was asked whether he felt the mass deaths at the residential schools that spanned decades constituted a genocide, after he noticeably did not use the term during other periods of the trip.
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“It’s true that I did not use the word because I didn’t think of it,” the pope said in response, according to the Globe and Mail. “Yes, genocide is a technical word, but I did not use it because I did not think of it. But … yes, it was a genocide, yes, yes, clearly. You can say that I said it was a genocide.”
The pope referred to the genocide as a “cultural destruction” instead in an apology to the indigenous people on behalf of the church Monday. The apology was accepted by some indigenous members of the population, but to others, the apology was not enough.
“With this visit, you’re signaling to the world that you and the Roman Catholic Church are joining us on our path of reconciliation, healing, hope, and renewal,” Queen Elizabeth’s II representative, Canadian Governor-General Mary Simon, said. “But these people, these survivors, they defy definition. They are parents who defended their children when no one else would.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission first used the term “cultural genocide” in describing the events after it interviewed over 7,000 survivors and witnesses of the abuses that ran rampant in the schools. The Catholic Church operated 60% of the schools affected by the genocide, according to the outlet. The issue came under international attention after 200 possible unmarked graves were discovered by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation last year. Other graves have been discovered since.
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The pope, who used a wheelchair to get out from a car to his scheduled appearances in the country, was additionally asked when the Vatican would rescind the doctrine of discovery, which allowed Europeans to seize other territories with the backing of the church so they could turn the land into Christian lands. The pope did not respond to the question directly — however, Vatican officials said the church was working on a statement that would renounce the policies in the doctrine.