At Mass in Canada, Pope praises indigenous reverence for elders

Pope Francis on Tuesday praised the indigenous tradition of showing great respect for elders and learning from them, saying their memory must not be lost in modern society’s “fog of forgetfulness. Francis is on a week-long tour of Canada to apologise for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in running residential schools that tore indigenous children away from their families and became places where abuse was rampant.

His words were particularly poignant for indigenous communities because the residential schools, which ran from 1870 to 1996, destroyed the link between generations so precious to indigenous cultures.

The Mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium was held a day after the pope travelled to the town of Maskwacis, site of two former schools, and issued a historic apology that called the Church’s role in schools and the forced cultural assimilation they attempted a “deplorable evil” and “disastrous error”.

Tens of thousands of people attended the service, which took place on the day the Roman Catholic Church marks the feast of the grandparents of Jesus. Francis, who has often spoken about what he learned from his grandmother Rosa in Buenos Aires, used the occasion to repeat his frequent appeals to younger generations to cherish their grandparents and learn from them.

In his homily, Francis called grandparents “a precious treasure that preserves a history greater than themselves.” This is our history, to which we are heirs and which we are called to preserve,” he said.

“In the fog of forgetfulness that overshadows our turbulent times, it is essential to cultivate our roots, to pray for and with our forebears, to dedicate time to remember and guard their legacy. This is how a family tree grows; this is how the future is built.

Source: SABC

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