Vatican says Pope Francis has agreed to visit Canada, meet with Indigenous leaders

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Pope Francis has agreed to visit Canada to help ongoing efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous people following shocking revelations of the Catholic Church's role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

In a brief statement, the Vatican said the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has invited the Pope to make an apostolic journey to Canada "also in the context of the long-standing pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples."

The Vatican says Francis has indicated his "willingness" to visit Canada at a date to be determined. Given the time usually required to organize an overseas papal visit, it appeared unlikely such a pilgrimage could happen this year.

"The Bishops of Canada have been engaged in meaningful discussions with Indigenous Peoples, especially those affected by Residential Schools who have shared stories about the suffering and challenges that they continue to experience," said Rev. Raymond Poisson, CCCB president.

"We pray that Pope Francis' visit to Canada will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing."

A few months ago, Francis agreed to meet in December with Indigenous survivors of Canada's notorious residential schools amid calls for a papal apology for the Catholic Church's role. At that time, the bishops conference said the pontiff had invited the delegations to the Vatican and would meet separately with three groups — First Nations, Métis and Inuit — during their Dec. 17-20 visit. The Pope will then preside over a final audience with all three groups Dec. 20, according to the bishops group.

It wasn't immediately clear if that Vatican meeting would go forward or if a papal pilgrimage might preclude it.

From the 19th century until the last school closed in 1997, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian boarding schools in a campaign to assimilate them into Canadian society. Thousands of children died there of disease and other causes; others never returned to their families.

Nearly three-quarters of the 130 residential schools were run by Roman Catholic missionary congregations, with others operated by the Presbyterian, Anglican and the United Church of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in response to a question last week while visiting Tk'emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nation in B.C., pointed out that those three churches had signed on to the landmark 2005 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

"We have seen, unfortunately, from the Catholic Church, a resistance to taking on responsibility, either financial or moral, for its role in residential schools," Trudeau said.

"I think the millions of Catholics like me across this country expect the church to step up and fulfil its moral responsibilities, its legal and economic responsibilities, its historic responsibilities, but also to practise what it quite literally preaches," he added.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said last month that they would give $30 million to help support survivors of the residential school system.