Reconciliation charity ‘welcome’ step for local dioceses

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This article was published 02/02/2022 (1665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local Roman Catholic leaders are welcoming news the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has established a new registered charity to support and advance healing and reconciliation initiatives with Indigenous people.

“This is a new and unprecedented endeavour,” said Richard Gagnon, archbishop of the Diocese of Winnipeg. “It will provide a transparent and accountable national structure to address the legacy of residential schools and provide further initiatives for healing and reconciliation.”

“It’s a welcome next step in the process,” added Albert LeGatt, archbishop of St. Boniface, noting the new charity assures Catholics who contribute to the healing fund the donations will be used for their intended purposes.

The new charity, which will include leadership by Indigenous people, will manage the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund, which will accept contributions from 73 dioceses across Canada, in order to fulfil the $30-million financial commitment made by Canada’s bishops last September.

“The bishops of Canada are fully committed to addressing the historical and ongoing trauma caused by the residential school system,” Bishop Raymond Poisson, president of the conference of bishops, said in a statement.

“In moving forward with our collective financial commitment, we will continue to be guided by the experience and wisdom of Indigenous peoples across the country.”

The presence of Indigenous leadership for the new charity is especially significant for the two local archbishops.

“These are people who have strong standing in their communities,” LeGatt said.

“It’s important they are involved in directing it,” added Gagnon, who also played a role in developing the charity.

Involved in directing the charity are: Chief Wilton Littlechild, a residential school survivor and lawyer who served as a commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; Giselle Marion, a lawyer from the Northwest Territories who is a Tlicho citizen; and Rosella Kinoshameg from the Wikwemikong First Nation unceded territory.

Other directors are: Natale Gallo, a former supreme director of the Knights of Columbus; Claude Bédard, national president of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada; and Barbara Dowding, former national president of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

The charity will publish annual reports and will be subject to an audit by an independent accounting firm each year.

While specific disbursements will be informed by input from Indigenous partners, the funds raised will be used to promote healing and reconciliation, culture and language revitalization, education and community building and dialogues for promoting indigenous spirituality and culture.

Funds donated to local dioceses will be sent to the new charity, which will then return them for use in projects identified locally as priorities.

Both local archdioceses are participating in the fundraising effort through the new charity.

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg plans to kick-off its fundraising campaign in the spring; the Archdiocese of St. Boniface will start with an education campaign this year. Fundraising will start in 2023.

Both archbishops agree while raising the money is important, it is just as important for Canadian Roman Catholics to “develop relationships with Indigenous people.”

Added LeGatt: “We want to have a fuller discussion about what reconciliation is, and how to pursue it at the parish level, asking forgiveness and then moving on together.”

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg has already received some donations for the healing fund; anyone who wants to donate now through either diocese is welcome to do so, the archbishops said.

The conference of bishops, Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami announced a meeting with the Pope, originally planned for December 2021, is now scheduled to take place between March 28 and April 1.

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