Pope Francis and the TRC Apology

Pope Francis has decided to not respond to the TRC’s recommendation on Residential Schools in Canada and for this, I am disappointed. I was hoping that the Pope would at least address the issue with some message to the Indigenous people of Canada. He is well aware of the situation of the Residential School history and he has concern for all those involved in the healing process.

However, he has decided, at this point, to encourage the Catholic Church in Canada to work with communities, to develop communication plans, including listening and sharing, and to work for reconciliation on the grass-roots level in their communities at the present time.

There was no plan for Pope Francis to visit Canada in the near future, and he decides which countries he will visit. A visit by the Pope to any country, takes months of planning and preparation. Even so, a message to Canada would have been helpful at this point in the process of reconciliation and healing.
However, Pope Francis can at times, be a bit unpredictable, and he might change his mind on this in the future. I am hopeful that the Pope will respond to this recommendation, when he sees it is time to do so and in the matter he thinks best responds to the request.