Warning: This story contains disturbing details
The head of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which represents Saskatchewan’s First Nations, says ticketing arrangements for the pope’s upcoming visit to Canada will result in residential school survivors who want to see him in person , will be deprived of this chance.
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Canada from July 24 to 29, visiting Edmonton, Iqaluit and Quebec City to promote reconciliation between the Roman Catholic Church and indigenous peoples.
He is expected to personally apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the boarding school system.
The federal government said the visit is being organized by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in consultation with Indigenous partners.
But FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said there has been very little involvement and communication with local organizations about the payment of those tickets and the funding that needs to come to First Nations regions.
“Very little input,” he said. “We’re talking about being excluded from these very, very important decisions.
“Survivors expect this to be a better coordinated system.”
10,000 tickets snapped up in 10 minutes
An update posted Monday on the CCCB’s official website for the papal visit said a new batch of 10,000 free tickets for the July 26 Mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium was claimed in 10 minutes. The last batch of tickets will be released this coming Monday, the announcement said.
“As you can see in the first phases of tickets that were available, they were snapped up in a matter of minutes,” Cameron said. “And now the next phase of the tickets, I’m sure it will be the same.
“So there will be survivors left.”
When asked by CBC News to explain what he knows about how the ticketing process works, Cameron said he doesn’t know.
“It was a decision obviously made by the federal government and the Catholic Church of Canada,” he said. “I have no idea. I really don’t.”
The official website for the papal visit said information on the priority allocation of places for residential school survivors, elders and knowledge keepers had been shared with national indigenous organizations, Catholic dioceses traveling with survivors and other indigenous partners .
The lists of delegates are already ready or are being prepared, the announcement said.
Cameron said some who want to can’t go because of a lack of transport and financial resources.
“That’s what we were trying to avoid,” he said. “We didn’t want any survivor who wanted to go not to go.
“Unfortunately, that will happen.”
The Conference of Catholic Bishops is in charge
CCCB spokeswoman Larissa Waller said the Canadian bishops were saddened to see the FSIN’s statement on consultations on the papal visit.
“We have not been presented with these concerns directly and will readily make ourselves available to speak with FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron about any steps that can be taken to ensure that Saskatchewan First Nations participate meaningfully in this upcoming phase “, she said.
Dioceses across Canada are helping survivors and facilitating their attendance at events with Pope Francis, she said.
Waller said planning for the upcoming papal visit was “informed by constructive discussions” with the leadership and staff of the Assembly of First Nations, the Tapiriit Kanatami Métis and Inuit National Council, in addition to indigenous leaders and delegates who participated in the Vatican trip in March and April.
She also said the first distribution of several thousand tickets for the Mass at Commonwealth Stadium has been sent to various Indigenous partners in Saskatchewan.
“We notified our partners weeks ago of the process we were going to take,” she said. “As they tell us they need more, we will allow more. We are doing this to ensure that people from all over the country can attend.”
Waller said the Mass at Commonwealth Stadium is the only papal event in Alberta that the general public can go to, while the others are for survivors and other members of local groups.
“The reason we did this is we needed a way for Catholics to see the pope as well, while respecting the reason the pope is coming,” she said. “We didn’t want these other events designed for local school survivors to be overwhelmed by the general public.”
Ottawa announces details of funding support
On Wednesday, the federal government released new details on funding and support for residential school survivors and local communities who want to attend events related to the pope’s visit.
The government said it is providing $30.2 million to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations for community-led activities related to the papal visit, such as healing activities, events, ceremonies and survivor trips.
An additional $3 million is being provided to support coordination by local partners in the three host regions, along with $2 million to support simultaneous translation of events into local languages and translation of the apology into local languages, the release said.
It said the Government of Canada stands ready to support additional requests if necessary.
Support is available for anyone affected by the ongoing effects of residential school and those challenged by the latest reports.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been established to provide support to residential school survivors and others affected. People can access emotional and crisis services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Add Comment