Canadian bishop hopes residential school apology marks 'step of healing'

A Calgary bishop says he hopes the apology the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops made earlier this week for its church's involvement in residential schools marks "a step of healing" toward reconciliation with survivors and their families.

The organization released a statement on Friday after its annual meeting in plenary of bishops across the country, an occasion the group often uses to discuss what issues are top of mind for the clergy of the Catholic Church, Bishop William McGrattan said on Sunday.

"It was unanimous. It was a unifying understanding that we, as the Catholic bishops coming together, wanted to make this statement as a step of healing — one of beginning, hopefully, a new path of hope," said McGrattan, who's also vice-president of the bishops' organization.

"And it's a sign, I hope … of our recognition of the pain and the suffering the residential schools have caused and our participation as a church."

McGrattan said individual dioceses across Canada had already made similar statements but this was the first time an apology came from bishops nationwide.

The apology was met with mixed feelings from Indigenous organizations and survivors of residential schools. 

Gerry Shingoose, a survivor living in Winnipeg, said she didn't find the apology sincere since the Catholic Church still hasn't been meaningfully held accountable for its role in the institutions.