CANADA (KFGO) – Pope Francis plans to apologize to Indigenous groups on Canadian soil for harms inflicted at church-run residential schools.
When he does, Francis will add to the Catholic Church’s growing ledger of atonement for past transgressions. Like the papacy, top Protestant leaders also have gradually issued institutional mea culpas for their churches’ historical wrongs. Many of the apologies on behalf of Christian denominations are for grave offenses: genocide, sex abuse, slavery, war and more.
While increasingly common, these apologies are a relatively modern phenomenon. Not everyone agrees they are effective, and several say they must be accompanied by further actions aimed at healing.
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