The former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent visit to Canada is a missed opportunity for the Church of England to have a greater impact on reconciliation.
Murray Sinclair told CBC News that the apology sent by Archbishop Justin Welby for the Anglican Church’s role in residential schools last weekend was meaningful, but more survivors should be able to witness it.
“When a leader of this magnitude steps forward and takes responsibility for what the institution he heads has done, that’s important,” said Sinclair, a former senator and judge.
“If not enough people hear you, it will not benefit the population, because they will still live in distrust of this relationship.
WATCH The Archbishop of Canterbury concluded his visit to Canada
Local communities wanted more than the meeting of the Archbishop of Canterbury
After apologizing for the Anglican Church’s role in residential schools, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s private meetings with members of the local community left some asking for more details on documentation and reparations. 2:05
Welby apologized three times to the survivors during his trip to Canada. Each apology delivered in a separate place, built on the previous one.
Last Saturday, he made his first historic apology to survivors at a residential school in James Smith Cree Nation, about 200 km northeast of Saskatoon.
The next day, during a gathering with more survivors and local leaders in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he apologized on behalf of the Anglican Church for residential schools and its broken promises to indigenous peoples.
LISTEN | Residents of residential schools remember meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury
The Afternoon Edition – Sask10: 02Survivor discusses the Archbishop of Canterbury’s apology for the role of the Anglican Church in residential schools
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby heard survivors of residential schools share their stories during his visit to Saskatchewan this weekend. Welby went to the James Smith Cree Nation and a local gathering in Prince Albert. He apologized for allowing the Anglican Church to commit a “terrible crime” in schools. George Merasti survived at a residency school and attended both events over the weekend. He joins us in today’s program. 10:02
On Tuesday, at the Anglican Church’s headquarters in Toronto, he apologized during a private meeting with survivors and representatives of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mohawks of Quinte Bay.
The children were sent by these first nations to the Anglican-run Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ont. – known as the ‘porridge hole’ due to the poor quality of the food.
The apology extended to two previous apologies made by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1993 and 2019.
“Almost like a slap in the face”
Sinclair, now rector of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., Said it was important for the archbishop to declare that the church takes responsibility for the behavior of its members, not just blames them for their atrocities.
“They themselves have admitted to pursuing a policy of forced assimilation and cultural genocide,” Sinclair said.
“It was an important part of the reconciliation process.”
Dennis Sanderson (left) was among those who greeted Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, when he arrived at the James Smith Cree Bernard Constant Community School on Saturday. (Brian Aeneas / CBC)
But Sinclair said more efforts were needed to include as many survivors as possible in the Canadian visit, the first by the Archbishop of Canterbury in eight years.
“Talking to survivors in a community is good for that community, but for the rest of the survivors it’s almost like a slap in the face that you’re ignored,” he said.
Although the trip was announced by the Anglican Church of Canada in February, it was not widely publicized.
Sinclair said he learned of Welby’s visit shortly before his arrival.
“I’d like to meet him,” Sinclair said.
Patricia Ballantyne, a survivor of a housing school, spoke to supporters in August 2021 on Parliament Hill after completing the 79-day Walk of Sorrows, which began in Prince Albert, Sask. after learning of hundreds of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools. (Ben Andrews / CBC)
Welby was invited to visit Canada from April 29 to May 3 by Archbishop Linda Nichols, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.
He was also invited by former National Anglican Archbishop Mark MacDonald, who resigned shortly before Welby’s trip for what the church called “recognized” sexual misconduct.
Patricia Ballantyne, who attended the Anglican-run Prince Albert Indian School from 1978 to 1987, said she was surprised that few survivors knew that events in Saskatchewan were happening.
“They say they want the survivors of the housing schools to share their stories, but they still haven’t informed the people of the first nations,” said Ballantyne, a Woodland Cree woman from Saskatchewan who met Welby over the weekend.
– This makes me sad.
“She had no intention of keeping it a secret.”
When questioned by the CBC on Sunday, Welby said he regretted that some survivors could not attend.
“It was meant to be a fully public visit,” Welby told Prince Albert. “We did not intend to keep it a secret.
He said the local church was in a better position than the Archbishop of Canterbury to make a difference with reconciliation.
“If this visit helps us create more momentum and help us gather things from Anglican Communion, that’s great,” Welby said.
“I don’t have the strength to push a switch and fix everything all of a sudden so they don’t miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Children’s shoes and stuffed animals sit on the steps of the former Mohawk Institute housing school in Brantford, Ont. (Cole Burston / AFP / Getty Images)
Some survivors called for financial support from the church. Welby said he could not commit to this during the visit, as the billions of dollars’ assets of the Church of England are not under his control but are regulated by an act of parliament.
The Anglican Church of Canada has paid $ 15.7 million to former students in residential schools within the Indian housing estate.
$ 2.8 million was recovered – which he said had been invested in indigenous ministry programs – after a different compensation formula was agreed with the Roman Catholic Church.
Ottawa is responsible for funding, Sinclair said
Sinclair said more money was needed for healing and support programs, but churches could not be relied upon to contribute.
Sinclair said Ottawa must bear the brunt of the responsibility.
“Even the great Catholic Church will not be able to fund all the treatment programs needed for survivors and their families across the country,” Sinclair said.
“This will have to come from the Canadian government, as it should, because the Canadian government’s policy was to establish residential schools and their direction and support allowed the churches to do what they did when they ran schools.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury addressed the people gathered last Saturday at the Bernard Constant Community School at James Smith Cree Nation. (Brian Aeneas / CBC)
Sinclair said churches should recognize the right of indigenous people to their own spiritual beliefs and should not try to indoctrinate them.
He encouraged churches to donate money to school healing initiatives such as language revitalization and other cultural programs. He also called on them to use their influence to pressure the federal government to spend more money.
“They have to contribute what they can, but they also have to ask people in society who can do more than what they have done,” he said.
Add Comment