Canada’s Catholic bishops on Monday said they would give $30 million to help support survivors of the residential school system, a pledge met with cautious optimism by survivors, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and others.Students and a nun pose in a classroom at Cross Lake Indian Residential School in Cross Lake, Man., in February…
Early Catholic mission records obtained by CBC News, along with the oral history of elders from Cowessess First Nation who attended Marieval residential school in Saskatchewan, help shed some light on the 751 unmarked graves found in the community cemetery last month after a ground-penetrating radar survey. Lloyd Lerat, 72, says he recalls seeing crosses and…
Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for residential school survivors and their families. The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until action is taken to fulfil the $25-million fundraising pledge made by church bodies in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.Saskatchewan Roman Catholic bishops announced plans to revive fundraising efforts for residential school survivors.…
A Catholic order that operated dozens of residential schools says it is seeking external advice to navigate privacy laws that could affect the quality and comprehensiveness of records it has committed to making available.The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate ran 48 residential schools in Canada, including those on the Cowessess First Nation and in Kamloops, B.C.,…
The doors of a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Saskatoon were splattered with paint Thursday afternoon after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School.The doors of St. Paul’s Co-Cathedral were painted in protest after the discovery of 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Residential School on the…
Catholic order that staffed Kamloops and other residential schools still refuses to share records that could help Indigenous families locate lost loved ones.Seven of Bronwyn Shoush’s aunts and uncles lay in residential school graves in Mission, B.C. For decades she’s been searching for answers about how exactly they died. (Submitted by Bronwyn Shoush)WARNING: This story…
Several Catholic school boards across Ontario are flying the rainbow flag to mark Pride month for the first time this year. LGBTQ students and allies say it will make students feel more welcome and safe. But there’s been pushback.Keith Baybayon says he struggled with self-acceptance as he reconciled his sexual identity with his Catholic faith.…
Victims and advocates say a new system for reporting sexual abuse and cover-ups by Catholic bishops appears to be a case of “optics over substance” and may not go far enough to protect those at risk of being abused.Patrick McMahon, a victim of child sexual abuse by a priest, says he would like to see the…