Pending papal visit ‘significant milestone’ in reconciliation journey

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This article was published 28/10/2021 (1800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT is with “great joy” Archbishop of Winnipeg Richard Gagnon welcomes news Pope Francis plans to visit Canada.

The Vatican announced Wednesday the Pope has accepted an invitation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to travel to the country in the future as part of a “process of reconciliation.”

The timing for the trip has yet to be determined.

“As Canadian bishops, we welcome the Holy Father’s decision,” said Gagnon, whose two-year term as CCCB president ended this month.

Gagnon has been part of the CCCB discussions with the Vatican over the issue of residential schools and a papal apology. He has also spoken to the Pope personally about the issue.

“The Holy Father holds very close in his heart the suffering of Indigenous people,” he said. “He has shown a great interest in the disenfranchised and vulnerable around the world.”

A meeting at the Vatican between the Pope and representatives of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities will still take place in December as planned, the archbishop said, noting he will be present for those discussions.

That meeting will be about the focus and theme for the future visit, and will include conversations about where the Pope will visit in Canada.

It would “be wonderful” if Manitoba were included in the itinerary, Gagnon said.

Archbishop William McGrattan of Calgary, vice-president of the CCCB, expressed gratitude Wednesday on behalf of Canada’s 90 Roman Catholic archbishops to the Pope for accepting the invitation.

“We pray that Pope Francis’s visit to Canada will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing,” he said.

The timing of the visit is also an open-ended question, McGrattan said, noting the Pope’s age (84) and health would be taken into consideration.

In September, Canada’s Roman Catholic bishops “unequivocally” apologized and expressed their “profound remorse” for the suffering experienced by Indigenous people at Roman Catholic Church operated residential schools.

At the same time, they acknowledged “the grave abuses that were committed by some members of our Catholic community; physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and sexual.”

The last time a Pope visited Canada was in 2002, when John Paul II attended World Youth Day in Toronto.

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