Authors:
- Sabrina Di Matteo: ResearchGate

- E.-Martin Meunier, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa - Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ResearchGate

Abstract: »The alleged discovery of unmarked graves in 2021 at certain sites of former residential schools in Canada brought the issues of the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples into the global spotlight and contributed to a new collective awareness of the colonialism and forced assimilation affecting Indigenous generations over nearly 200 years. Despite apologies and financial compensations from the Government of Canada and Catholic religious orders since the 1990s, there was little follow-up from the Catholic Church in Canada and from the Vatican to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). These issues came forward again as of 2021; they became viewed as a scandal by the general population, and they could be a major component in the decline in popularity of Catholicism in Québec and Canada. This chapter analyzes how this scandal was constructed, considering reactions (or lack thereof) from the Catholic hierarchy and from the Canadian and Indigenous populations toward the Church, especially within the timeframe spanning the TRC and Pope Francis’ visit to Canada in July 2022. Although there were cases of sexual abuse within the residential schools, the crisis and the scandal detailed in this chapter are of a wider scope. They concern the responsibility of Churches and State in the transgenerational wound of colonialism inflicted on Indigenous Peoples, as well as the dysfunction and discredit associated with the Catholic Church in Canada because of said crisis.« (Source: Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion)

Wikipedia: History of the Americas: History of Canada | Education: Education in Canada / Canadian Indian residential school system | Religion: Catholic Church / Catholic Church in Canada | Sex and the law: Sexual violence / Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada