Francis had already grovelled (well, sort of) before a delegation of First Nations and Inuit elders in Rome, four months ago, but that wasn't good enough. Canada's pinko prime minister, Just In Trudeau, pressured the Pope to come in person to engage in a multi-million-dollar publicity stunt against the Church's "abusive, colonialist, and culture-suppressing" missionary activity in Canada. And here he is.
* It must be noted here that it is dogma that Holy Mother Church, founded by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, cannot err. If Francis had apologized for mistakes or misdeeds of the Church, that would have been the gravest heresy. That's why the text of his apology, delievered just hours ago, must be read very carefully. Here is the key part of what he said. (The emphasis is mine. Walt)
"I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry. Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous Peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the church and of religious communities co-operated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.
"Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded, and that you have continued to pay the price of this. In the face of this deplorable evil, the church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children. I myself wish to reaffirm this, with shame and unambiguously. I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous Peoples."
Regular readers will know that I hold no brief for the man who calls himself Pope Francis. But his apology, unlike many of the statements which he makes up as he goes along, seems to me well thought through, appropriate and correct.
Other may take a less charitable view. Our old friend Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper, has just put together a minidocumentary on the residential schools, which he intends as a blow against woke revisionist history, or -- he puts it more bluntyly -- fake news.
Mr Matt calls the Pope's "pentitential pilgrimage" part of the "Pachamama Road Show", another attempt to exploit indigenous peoples to push a new Woke Order, the success of which depends on a thoroughly discredited Christian Old World Order. Whether or not you think Francis is doing the right thing -- or trying to -- you should watch this video and consider what's really going on here.
Also in this video: What about Francis’s alleged coverups of sexual abusers such as Fr. Julio Cesar Grassi and Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta? Francis covered for them, and now they're in jail! Who's going to apologize to the victims for Francis's role in those coverups? Mr Matt's Remnant Underground videos are always worth watching... and sharing!
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