- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
- Huge protests in Argentina over public university cuts
- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
- Mixed US car sales in Q3 as industry hopes for post-election bounce
- Thunderstorms are a 'boiling pot' of gamma rays, scientists find
- Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
- US private sector adds more jobs than expected in September: ADP
RBGPF | 100% | 58.93 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.15% | 6.98 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.16% | 24.74 | $ | |
VOD | -0.52% | 9.69 | $ | |
RELX | -1.46% | 46.61 | $ | |
GSK | -2.81% | 38.37 | $ | |
NGG | -2.7% | 66.97 | $ | |
RIO | -1.42% | 69.83 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.16% | 24.89 | $ | |
SCS | -1.98% | 12.62 | $ | |
BTI | -2.45% | 35.11 | $ | |
AZN | -2.12% | 77.93 | $ | |
BCC | -0.9% | 138.29 | $ | |
JRI | -0.6% | 13.3 | $ | |
BCE | -1.77% | 33.84 | $ | |
BP | 0.28% | 32.46 | $ |
Pilgrimage over, but long journey ahead: Pope ends penitent Canada trip
Pope Francis ended his trip to Canada Friday as he began -- by apologizing to Indigenous survivors of Catholic-run schools where for decades children were abused, after meeting with Inuit people in the Canadian Arctic.
The six-day "penitential pilgrimage" that took the pontiff from Alberta in western Canada to Quebec and then the far north allowed him to meet many of Canada's First Nations, Metis and Inuit people, who for years had been awaiting his plea for forgiveness.
While many of them welcomed the gesture by the 85-year-old, who spent much of the trip in a wheelchair due to knee pain, they also made clear that this was only a first step on a journey of reconciliation.
The pope wrapped up his journey in the capital of the vast northern territory of Nunavut, Iqaluit, which means "the place of many fish."
Residents greeted him there with traditional performances including drumming and throat singing, on a stage set up to resemble an Inuit summer home -- evoking whale ribs, sod and stone -- beneath a cool, overcast sky.
Francis met with survivors of the schools, then told a crowd of around 2,000 mainly Indigenous people that their stories "renewed in me the indignation and shame that I have felt for months."
"I want to tell you how very sorry I am and to ask for forgiveness for the evil perpetrated by not a few Catholics who contributed to the policies of cultural assimilation and enfranchisement in those schools," he said.
As he spoke, Inuit people in the crowd could be seen hugging and holding hands. Some wiped away tears. Later, a handful of people shouted "Thank you!" and "We love you!" as the pope was wheeled off the stage.
From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 children into 139 residential schools run by the Catholic Church.
Many were physically and sexually abused at the schools, and thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect, in what a truth and reconciliation commission later called a "cultural genocide."
Residents in Iqaluit, a community of just over 7,000 people and where small houses line the rocky ocean shore, have listened closely to the pope's words throughout his trip.
"He did apologize, and a lot of people don't seem to be happy with it, but he took that step to come to Nunavut ... and I think that's big," lifelong Iqaluit resident Evie Kunuk, 47, told AFP.
The pope's reception in Canada has been "a little bit lukewarm," admitted Quebec resident Steve Philippe, 52, who had travelled to Iqaluit to see the pope.
"Maybe expectations were too high... but I think it's a step in the right direction," Philippe said.
After the event was over, the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was taken to the airport where Inuit people performed one last ceremony.
Francis then boarded his flight back to Rome, during which he is expected to hold a press conference.
- 'Brilliant light' -
Throughout the trip, Indigenous people have spoken of a "release of emotion" at hearing the pope's words.
But many have warned it was only the beginning.
Some have called for Francis to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery, the 15th century papal bulls that allowed European powers to colonize any non-Christian lands and people.
Demands were also made for him to allow Indigenous people access to records documenting what happened in the schools, and to return Indigenous artefacts currently held in Vatican museums.
Others have pointed out that while the pope repeatedly apologized for what he said individuals in the Church did, he did not seek forgiveness for the role of the institution itself.
And many have observed that the pope did not specifically mention or apologize for the sexual abuse of First Nations, Metis and Inuit children in the schools.
Inuit leaders had been expected to ask the pope once again to intervene in the case of 93-year-old Joannes Rivoire, a fugitive French priest accused of sexually abusing Inuit children in Nunavut decades ago before fleeing to France.
Earlier this year, Canadian police issued a new arrest warrant for Rivoire, and an Inuit delegation asked Francis at the Vatican to personally intervene to see him extradited.
He did not publicly mention Rivoire or sexual abuse in Iqaluit.
During his Canadian tour, Francis vowed to promote Indigenous rights and made clear the Church was on a "journey" of healing and reconciliation.
"I am returning home greatly enriched," he said in Quebec City earlier Friday.
He said that "it too is strong and resilient, and responds with brilliant light to the darkness that enshrouds it for most of the year."
Y.Uduike--CPN