'Our children have had enough': Indigenous Albertans seeking truth, apology in meeting with Pope
For 85-year-old Metis Elder Angie Crerar, a face-to-face meeting with Pope Francis is about much more than her own experience in a Canadian residential school.
"It's something we've waited for, for over 150 years. It's time. Our children have had enough," she said Thursday in Edmonton.
"I can't tell you how important it is for us that we reached the Pope. Our children deserve to have peace."
Crerar is part of a delegation that will travel to the Vatican this month to meet with the Pope, seeking truth and reconciliation on residential schools.
About 25 people will be on the trip, including three Albertans.
While a prime minister and other church leaders have apologized for residential schools, the leader of the Catholic Church has not.
"Yes, they received other gifts of learning, but also recognizing that their language and culture sometimes was suppressed," said Bishop William McGrattan from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary.
"We do recognize there was an impact and a devastation on that generation, and that currently in our own education system that we make sure that our students understand that."
AN APOLOGY IS 'IN THE HANDS OF GOD': BISHOP
After the Canadian delegation returns, Pope Francis is expected to travel to Canada.
But it's not clear if he will apologize publicly or not.
"Those words that we’ve been looking for, for a long time. You know, and those words are quite simple on paper, easy to write out, but they’re hard to say," Delegate Gary Gagnon said.
Survivors across the country are demanding more than an apology. Some are pushing for a full release of church documents and monetary reparations to survivors and their families.
McGrattan acknowledged a $30 million agreement to make reparations, but he didn't explain why that hasn't all been paid yet.
He pointed out that Canadian bishops have apologized to residential school survivors.
As for the papal apology, McGrattan said, "that's in the hands of God. That's in the hands of Pope Francis."
To Crerar, atonement is only possible with a full accounting of the truth.
"We always had faith. And we never gave up, and we never ever, ever will," she said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.