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Meeting of Pope Benedict XVI with Canadian Aboriginal representatives

Wednesday, April 15 2009
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Photo: Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
(CCCB – Ottawa) – On 29 April 2009, following the General Audience which regularly takes place on Wednesday mornings, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with a delegation of Aboriginal representatives from Canada including Mr. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and with representatives of Catholic dioceses and religious communities in Canada, including Archbishop V. James Weisgerber, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. During this meeting, the Pope will express his concern for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada who continue to suffer from the impact of the former Indian Residential Schools, the majority of which were managed by a number of Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

During a news conference held earlier today at the Ottawa offices of the Assembly of First Nations, Archbishop Weisgerber, in the presence of Chief Phil Fontaine, explained that the meeting with the Holy Father would serve as a witness to the mutual determination of the Catholic Church of Canada and the First Nations for a renewed partnership and a new beginning. Archbishop Weisgerber also recalled the clear expressions of regret made in the early 1990s by the religious communities and the Catholic dioceses that were associated with the residential schools.

Last Updated on Tuesday, October 20 2009  
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