Opinion polls showmore than half ofCanadians sayPope Francis apologized for his recent visit and abuse at boarding schools. , indicating that it sees it as a step towards reconciliation.
The Angus Reed Institute has released the results of its latest online poll. Nearly 60% of his participants said they thought the Pope's apology was a meaningful step towards reconciliation, while 32% said nothing was done. to advance the settlement.
READ MORE: Pope Francis says genocide happened at boarding school: 'I condemned this'
Those who identified as indigenous were less likely to say an apology contributed to reconciliation, 54%, and 36% said the gesture made no difference.
Francis last month visitedAlberta,Quebec andNunavut for his six days in what he called a "pilgrimage of repentance". I apologized for that. Evil that some members of the Roman Catholic Church inflicted upon the indigenous peoples during their boarding school days.
Story Continues Under Advertisement
Research found that two-thirds of respondents who tracked the Pope's visits and speeches viewed his apology as sincere. .
Trending Stories
Half of the participants agreed that the federal government, the Christian Church, and society would create and permit boarding school systems. states that they are equally responsible for continue.
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend boarding schools in Canada, where neglect and physical and sexual abuse are rampant. Over 60% of his schools were run by the Catholic Church.
During his stay in Canada, Francis met with indigenous groups and boarding school survivors, where he repeated his apology. After the visit, he called what happened at the boarding school a kind of genocide.
The poll was a significant factor in whether respondents' previous views of Canada's relationship with Indigenous peoples viewed the Pope's visit and apology as representing a step toward reconciliation. suggesting that there was
Story Continues Below Ad
Read More: Pope Francis "Pilgrimage
"If you take the view that it is getting worse, the pope's visit made no difference to reconciliation." ,” said Shachi Kurl, president of the Institute.
"If you think it's a relationship that's improving, people are more optimistic or say, yes, the trip represented a meaningful step towards reconciliation." I will express my feelings.”
More than half of the respondents said the country needs to do more research on boarding schools before moving forward. There were generational and gender differences on this issue, as younger respondents and women said more work was needed.
Labs 2,279 of Canadians surveyed, 117 of whom self-identified as Indigenous from August 8-10. The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, a body that specializes in the polling industry, says online surveys do not sample populations at random, so they cannot be assigned margins of error.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
