It was a picture of Canada’s first nations’ representatives with the Bishop of Rome that got me thinking. Where are the anachronisms in this picture? And who are the people of faith?
It was the central figure in the white smock that got me thinking. He is the head of a dying religion. The opulent churches around the world have fewer parishioners these days and fewer funds to support the hierarchy in Rome. The funds they probably have set aside for a rainy day might be coming in to play. Even an audience chamber such as where the photograph was taken is expensive to keep in good repair.
But the Pope and his handlers made good use of the occasion. They welcomed the first nations, Metis and others who share ancestors that came to North America thousands of years ago. They came to Rome in the headdresses and fashions of their peoples. I guess Phil Fontaine, who normally wears a fedora, came in his plains Indian war bonnet—earned, I expect, for his hard work as elected chief of the assembly of first nations. He had been to Rome before on this quest. He saw Pope Benedict in 2009. Benedict brushed off the delegation.
But did they come to Rome to air their grievances or to make peace with their church? The Pope’s apology was no redress for the church’s failure to protect the children put in its care. If the church’s original intent was to proselytize, it did a poor job of it.
Canada has paid the price many times over for the failure of the residential schools. It is easy to understand the lack of trust for the society that takes your children and fails to return them all to you. Unmarked graves do not paint a picture of a responsible guardianship.
What I fail to understand is the competitive attitude of the various communities in inviting the Pope to visit some of our first nations. Why? Is he really interested in the oral histories he will hear? It seems to me that it would make more sense to ban any unmarried Catholic priest from coming onto first nations lands.
-30-
Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: