The President of the North Cariboo Metis Association believes the Catholic Church is lagging behind governments when it comes to reconciliation.
Tony Goulet was reacting to this week’s meeting with Metis leaders and Pope Francis.
“Oh yes, for sure. The Catholic Church needs to apologize for its wrongdoings. I know they don’t want to because it could lead to them having to pay settlements, so they probably don’t want to go that route.”
Goulet added while he appreciates the Pope saying that the church is committed to moving forward with reconciliation, but he says that should include an apology.
He has seen firsthand the trauma that has come out of the church-run residential schools.
“My dad going to the residential school, my family going to the residential school in Alberta and all the terrifying things and everything that happened with that is quite emotional, and during this journey there are a lot more people because they didn’t want to talk about it right.”
Goulet stated people just put things on the back shelf, and he feels a lot more stories will come out.
Simply put, an apology would mean a lot.
“It would mean they finally, the Catholic Church has recognized that Metis was included in the residential schools. It would be a hugely historic moment because for years it has always focused on aboriginal First Nations, but Metis and Inuit were also lumped in there.”
Goulet mentioned Metis, Inuit, and the Assembly of First Nations have another meeting with the Pope later this week.
– with files from George Henderson, My Cariboo Now staff