THE APOLOGY OF A LIFETIME — WILLIE LITTLECHILD was six years old when he was torn from his family and enroled at Ermineskin Residential School, one of the largest institutions in Canada dedicated to erasing Indigenous culture, language and traditions. This morning, Littlechild will introduce Pope Francis, the leader of the very same church that perpetrated decades of abuse and violence, to survivors after the pontiff visits the site of the very same school Littlechild attended in Maskwacis, Alberta. The Pope is there to make amends, on Treaty Six territory, for the church's role in what the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) termed "cultural genocide." Littlechild, a 78-year-old former TRC commissioner, was on the floor of the House of Commons when then-PM STEPHEN HARPER apologized for the government's role in the school system. He met two previous popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. And he was in the room earlier this year when, on his birthday, Indigenous survivors received a private audience at the Vatican with Francis — and heard a surprise apology. Now, Littlechild will offer the pope a warm welcome to Treaty Six land south of Edmonton. — The order of ceremonies: Francis is scheduled to arrive at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Maskwacis at 10 a.m. local time. "We are a unique Catholic community of Indigenous peoples and settlers who pray together using symbols, music, and rituals which are meaningful to our People and to our culture," reads the Seven Sorrows website. "The interior of our Church is designed to illustrate our journey in faith using our Cree culture." Next stop is the Ermineskin Cemetery, where the Pope will offer a prayer. After meeting four Maskwacis chiefs on the site of the closed school, it's onto Maskwacis Park, the site of local pow wow gatherings, for remarks at 10:30. Littlechild says 2,000 chairs have been set up. The plan is for the Pope to return to Edmonton at 11:30 for a visit to Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples. THE APOLOGY — The big question when the Pope speaks to First Nations, Métis and Inuit gathered at Maskwacis is: Who will he apologize for? In April, Francis qualified his words of remorse: “For the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.” Read his full remarks here . Most survivors are hoping for more today. At a minimum, they want Francis to apologize on behalf of the institution he leads as a whole, not merely those who ran the schools. Here are three perspectives on what the Pope has to say: → PHIL FONTAINE, a survivor and two-time national chief of the Assembly of First Nations: "I'm looking for words that will give us comfort. It will bring some peace in our lives, solace and hopefully take us to a place where we can finally forgive for our experiences." → CYNTHIA WESLEY-ESQUIMAUX, a daughter of survivors and chair on Truth and Reconciliation at Lakehead University: “People will now have a story to tell their children, their grandchildren, about the pope’s visit, and about his acknowledgment that this damage has been done,” she said. “It will also help to explain to Canadians generally that this is the truth of the reconciliation story.” → LORI CAMPBELL, the University of Regina’s associate vice president of Indigenous engagement who was taken from her family, and adopted by a white family as part of the Sixties Scoop: "For those of us in particular who are the legacy, and still experiencing the impact of what the residential schools did to our aunties and uncles and grandparents, it further reinforces distrust. It doesn't support reconciliation, because words are just words, and especially words that seem like they've been forced to have to finally say, without concrete actions." — Practical demands: Many Indigenous leaders want Francis to revoke centuries-old edicts known as the Papal Bulls, which included the so-called "doctrine of discovery" that denied sovereignty of non-Christian peoples as Europeans explored and claimed new lands. Over the weekend, the Globe and Mail reported on the legal complexity of the debate over the doctrine of discovery . BRUCE MCIVOR, a lawyer and member of the Manitoba Métis Federation, set the stakes for that debate. “Every time someone in Canada sells property and wrings their hands in glee over all the money they’ve made, they are participating in the Doctrine of Discovery. Every resource development, every pipeline — that’s all based on the Doctrine of Discovery,” McIvor said. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has led calls for the Catholic Church to turn over millions of pages of documents related to residential schools. Also on the list is Catholic fundraising agreed to by the church under the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Most of those funds haven't materialized, though Canadian bishops have since renewed a promise to do so . THE ENTOURAGE — Francis flew precisely 8,430 kilometers (5,238 miles) from Rome to Edmonton aboard an ITA Airways A330-202. He's joined by a traveling inner circle known as a seguito, an Italian word for "the following." The seguito includes Cardinal PIETRO PAROLIN, the Vatican's secretary of State; Archbishop EDGAR PEÑA PARRA, the substitute of the secretariat of State; Archbishop PAUL RICHARD GALLAGHER , secretary for relations with states and international organizations; Cardinal MARC OUELLET, a Quebecer who serves as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; and Cardinal MICHAEL CZERNY, the Czech-born Canadian who serves as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
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