VATICAN - Pope Francis to Canadian indigenous peoples: the Christian faith cannot be transmitted in a way contrary to the faith itself

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Christian faith cannot be confessed, witnessed and communicated to others with methods and tools that are foreign and contrary to the dynamics of the faith itself.
Pope Francis repeated this in his speech on Friday April 1 in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace to the delegations of the indigenous peoples in Canada, who arrived in Rome together with some Canadian Catholic Bishops to meet the Successor of Peter, and help the Pontiff - as had explained Bishop Raymond Poisson, President of the Canadian Bishops' Conference - "to address in a meaningful way both the current trauma and the legacy of suffering faced by indigenous peoples to date, as well as the role of the Catholic Church in the residential school system, which contributed to the suppression of indigenous languages, culture and spirituality". Referring to the involvement of the Church in the violent forms of spiritual and cultural manipulation suffered by Canadian indigenous peoples, the Bishop of Rome re-proposed essential criteria for recognizing and distinguishing the authentic apostolic work of proclaiming the Gospel from any homologating indoctrination of a cultural, political or religious level. "The content of the faith cannot be transmitted - the Pope remarked – in a way contrary to the faith itself: Jesus taught us to welcome, love, serve and not judge; it is a frightening thing when, precisely in the name of the faith, counter-witness is rendered to the Gospel".
In past ages, and also in recent times, even Christian words and contents have become instruments of projects and processes of "ideological colonization" so often recalled in the magisterium of Pope Francis. An impending temptation every time that Christianity is reduced to a factor and instrument of civilization and cultural configuration, regardless of the historical work - gratuitous and not due - of the grace of Christ. The story of the Canadian indigenous peoples has also been the subject of violent cultural homologation processes that have exploited Christian formulas and social works linked to the Church. "Your tree" recognized Pope Francis in his speech "has experienced a tragedy that you described to me in these past days: the tragedy of being uprooted. The chain that passed on knowledge and ways of life in union with the land was broken by a colonization that lacked respect for you, tore many of you from your vital milieu and tried to conform you to another mentality. In this way, great harm was done to your identity and your culture, many families were separated, and great numbers of children fell victim to these attempts to impose a uniformity based on the notion that progress occurs through ideological colonization, following programmes devised in offices rather than the desire to respect the life of peoples. This is something that, unfortunately, and at various levels, still happens today: ideological colonization. How many forms of political, ideological and economic colonization still exist in the world, driven by greed and thirst for profit, with little concern for peoples, their histories and traditions, and the common home of creation! Sadly, this colonial mentality remains widespread. Let us help each other, together, to overcome it". In his speech, the Pontiff also made explicit reference to the “stories of the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse that some of you experienced, particularly in the residential schools. It is chilling - added the Pope - to think of determined efforts to instil a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas". Regarding these events, the Pope said he felt "sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values. All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church", the Pontiff continued, "I ask for God's forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry". At the same time, the Pope mentioned with words of gratitude to "all those good and decent believers who, in the name of the faith, and with respect, love and kindness, have enriched your history with the Gospel. I think with joy, for example, of the great veneration that many of you have for Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. This year I would like to be with you on those days. Today we need to reestablish the covenant between grandparents and grandchildren, between the elderly and the young, for this is a fundamental prerequisite for the growth of unity in our human family". Addressed to the Canadian Bishops present, Pope Francis exhorted them to continue "in humility" the path of healing and reconciliation undertaken with the indigenous peoples, recalling that "the Spirit of the Lord is revealed in humility", and that "Before stories like the one we heard, the humiliation of the Church is fruitfulness". (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 2/4/2022)

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