MOVING BEYOND WORDS
We are heartened by the healing felt by so many in response to the Pope’s apology to Indigenous peoples on their land (Truth and Reconciliation Call # 58).
While there were many different perspectives on the apology, there was much more consensus on the need for the apology to be followed by actions to transform the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons in Canada. There can be no reconciliation without social, cultural, environmental, and economic justice for Indigenous communities. And we recognize this calls for deep change on our part, personally, communally, and as a society.
At the most fundamental level of action, we heard the call for truth-telling about the role of the institutional church in colonialism and the residential school tragedy. Senator Murray Sinclair, the chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, cut to the crux of the issue when he insisted, “It is important to underscore that the church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land.”
These words urge us forward into the “search for truth” of which the Pope spoke and have the capacity to free us for restorative action as we co-create a new future. We value such dialogue as critical to the evolution of consciousness at the heart of reconciliation.
In addition, as Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, our actions for reconciliation prioritize support for Indigenous-led projects for change such as:
• Water First - a certificate program that trains Indigenous youth in the maintenance of water treatment plants which contributes a solution to the crisis of clean drinking water and provides skilled employment.
• Reducing Youth Justice Involvement - an Indigenous-led pilot process in Manitoba whose aim is to reduce Indigenous youth time spent in prison. The process is a year-long live-in experience that uses the best of Indigenous wisdom and time on the land as well the best of Western science to treat addiction.
As we look to next steps, we are attentive to priorities for action identified by a variety of Indigenous voices in Canada. Some examples include:
· Governor General Mary Simon’s suggestion that the church’s actions following the papal apology might start with financing of mental health resources for Indigenous communities.
· Journalist Tanya Talaga’s recommendation that a good place for the Canadian Catholic church to start is to financially support the recovery of Indigenous children in the unmarked graves.
It is our desire to bring a culture of encounter to our next steps toward reconciliation; a culture characterized by deep listening and a contemplative heart in our dialogue and action.
