Category: residential schools

Why Is Nothing Being Done About the Claim That Children Were Murdered in Canada’s Residential Schools?

Commentary Over the last two years, innumerable news reports have been published about missing children and mass or unmarked graves at Indian Residential Schools (IRS) from across Canada. First, the news that the graves of 215 students were discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School at the end of May 2021 was shocking, to say…


There’s No Evidence Residential School Children Were Murdered and Tossed Into Unmarked Graves

Commentary Since the media release by the Kamloops Indian Band on May 27, 2021, about “the confirmation of the remains of 215 children [buried in unmarked graves] who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School,” similar announcements across the country have come fast and furious. The news stories and unabated attention devoted to unmarked graves…


Why the Pope Avoided Making His Apology at Kamloops

Commentary “I know of the gratitude that you yourselves, the Indian and Inuit peoples, have towards the missionaries who have lived and died among you. What they have done for you is spoken of by the whole Church; it is known by the entire world. These missionaries endeavoured to live your life, to be like…


Pope Francis Continues Canadian Visit, Takes Part in Annual Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage

Pope Francis celebrated Mass before a crowd of thousands at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on the morning of July 26 as he began the third day of his papal visit to Canada. The Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church will participate in the annual Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage later this afternoon to continue what he has…


Pope Francis Apologizes for Residential Schools, Meets With Indigenous Leaders in Alberta

Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s involvement in Canada’s residential school system before a crowd of hundreds of indigenous people and leaders in Maskwacis, Alberta, on the morning of July 25. This comes on the second day of Francis’s visit to Canada, during which time he will meet with indigenous peoples and leaders in…


Peter Stockland: Pope’s Visit Should Not Be Used to Promote Intolerance of Catholicism

Commentary Philosopher Peter Kreeft is credited with the observation that by the late 20th century, anti-Catholicism had become the fashionable bigotry of the white-collar and intellectual classes. The point was at least two-fold. One was that in an era of inclusiveness rampant on a field of diversity, being Roman Catholic was among the few identities…


The Knowns and Unknowns About the Kamloops Burials

Commentary The announcement by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc indigenous band of Kamloops, B.C. on May 27, 2021, about finding remains of 215 children on the grounds of an Indian Residential School instantly became headline news worldwide, even though the band’s press release said that “At this time we have more questions than answers.” Across Canada, the meagre…


Pope Francis to Tour Canada in July

Pope Francis will tour Canada this summer, visiting Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit at the end of July, in a move intended to address the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system. The Vatican confirmed the visit in a statement on May 13, saying further details on the journey would be published in the…


Ryerson University Renamed as Toronto Metropolitan University Amid Controversy

Ontario’s Ryerson University has been renamed Toronto Metropolitan University after its board of governors approved a proposal for a name change on April 26. The renaming process began in August 2021, after Ryerson’s board of governors approved recommendations proposed by a special task force created to review the history and legacy of the university’s namesake,…


Woman Sentenced to 4 Years for Burning Down Coptic Orthodox Church in BC

A woman has been sentenced to four years in prison for burning down a Coptic Orthodox church in British Columbia last year following the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools. Kathleen Panek, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson in relation to the burning of the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey’s Whalley neighbourhood on July…