Pope Francis began a visit to Canada yesterday to apologize to first people there for abuses by catholic missionaries at residential schools. The pope met by indigenous people after arriving in Edmonton.
The pope’s visit is aimed at reconciliation with indigenous people for the catholic church’s role in residential schools.
150,000 first people were taken from their families as children and placed in the residential schools. They died of disease and experienced abuse by the catholic leaders.
The story is told in a movie called Iron Horse. A Canadian film adapted from a novel by an Ojibwe writer. It tells the story of an Indian boy taken from his family and put in a catholic residential school, where he learns to play hockey and later embarks on a professional hockey career.
The movie was produced by Clint Eastwood.
