Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery part of a larger project of relationship building, says bishop
CBC
A former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith says the Vatican's repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery is just part of the ongoing renewal of the church's relationship with Indigenous people — and it started on the Pope's trip to Canada.
Mark Hagemoen is now the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.
He traveled with residential school survivors to meet Pope Francis in Maskwacis, Alta., last summer, where he says the pope seemed "surprised" that the issue of the Doctrine of Discovery was raised.
Hagemoen spoke with Hilary Bird, host of the CBC N.W.T.'s The Trailbreaker, Friday.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Why do you think he was so surprised that this was an issue for Indigenous leaders?
In the months preceding [the Pope's visit], there was an Indigenous delegation that visited the Vatican and they raised a number of issues that really related to residential schools and their experience of that. And I understood … that the Pope listened intently for hours to the various delegates. And so I understand he was responding, in terms of his visit, to speak to the stories he heard from the delegation that talked about residential schools, the loss of culture, the experience of colonialism. The Doctrine of Discovery, as I understand, was definitely raised at Maskwacis first at the end of the ceremony. That's when people came forward with the banners: Renounce the Doctrine.
And I just experienced him receiving that, watching that. It's just my opinion he was a bit surprised, but I also am grateful that he responded, I think, pretty forthrightly.
How do you think the Vatican can put its intention behind this into action? We've heard calls for a number of things regarding this. Do you have thoughts on that?
To tell you the truth, I have less thoughts about the Vatican and more thoughts about the Catholic Church in Canada and the dioceses that make it up.
There has been … a renewed focus as we look at the history of things like the Doctrine of Discovery and colonialism in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th centuries and its effects.
The other development in the last year and a half has been the discovery of unmarked graves. And so there's a renewed emphasis on looking at how we mark the history of cemeteries approximate to residential schools, and communal efforts to mark graves or cemeteries and to have rituals and an ongoing recognition of the sacredness of those sites.
There's many other initiatives, but I think those are the practical things that are coming out of the Pope's visit. And so relationship building … is probably the biggest mark of action.
Some people would say that could start with the release of residential school records held by the Catholic Church and the federal government. What are your thoughts on that?
Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia can all expect between 20 and 40 millimetres of rainfall this weekend.
More Alberta seniors are now eligible for a provincially funded RSV vaccine.
More than 100 workers at a steel plant in eastern Ontario are being laid off either temporarily or permanently, as a company with facilities in Quebec and Ontario cuts its workforce due to challenging market conditions — including U.S. tariffs.
A small town northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont., has become the unlikely home for hundreds of foreign workers, but many may have to leave the community they've embraced after the end of a federal program put in place to fill gaps in Canada's labour market.
There's mixed reaction in Waterloo to an injuction allowing police to detain, arrest and charge anyone who is participating in unsanctioned street parties in that city this weekend.
Diabetes Canada is excited about Prince Edward Island's new pharmacare deal with the federal government, but hopes the province will reevaluate copays on diabetes supplies, says a senior manager with the organization.
After 26 years of accommodating guests from across the world, Faith Embleton says she and her husband Ken are ready to sell their bed and breakfast.
A group of big-name companies including Google, Meta and Dow have signed a pledge to support tripling the world's nuclear energy capacity by 2050, a signal of the technology's growing resurgence in popularity.
Five years on, Toronto-area doctors and public health officials are looking back at what they've learned since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and most agree the early experience will prove useful if the city faces another infectious disease crisis.
City staff would like Londoners to take a good look around their home and ask themselves a direct and possibly difficult question: Could everyone in your family survive at home, without leaving and with no other help, for a full 72 hours?
Liberal Leader Mark Carney will officially become Canada's next prime minister within a few hours, taking the reins as the country barrels toward a general election and continues to fend off verbal and economic attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Recent cyberattacks in Newfoundland and Labrador should have been a wake up call for the federal government about the reality of an increasingly hostile world, says one cybersecurity expert.
A recent CBC News analysis found that Nova Scotia is rapidly losing some of its most affordable apartments, but housing experts say there are ways to prevent that.