Archbishop of Canterbury responds to GAFCON statement

[ACNS 4417 • Lambeth] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has responded to the final declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference with the following statement:

The Final Statement from the GAFCON meeting in Jordan and Jerusalem contains much that is positive and encouraging about the priorities of those who met for prayer and pilgrimage in the last week. The ‘tenets of orthodoxy’ spelled out in the document will be acceptable to and shared by the vast majority of Anglicans in every province, even if there may be differences of emphasis and perspective on some issues. I agree that the Communion needs to be united in its commitments on these matters, and I have no doubt that the Lambeth Conference will wish to affirm all these positive aspects of GAFCON’s deliberations. Despite the claims of some, the conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and God and the absolute imperative of evangelism are not in dispute in the common life of the Communion

However, GAFCON’s proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways, and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed.

A ‘Primates’ Council’ which consists only of a self-selected group from among the Primates of the Communion will not pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion. And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulties, both theological and practical — theological because of our historic commitments to mutual recognition of ministries in the Communion, practical because of the obvious strain of responsibly exercising episcopal or primatial authority across enormous geographical and cultural divides.

Two questions arise at once about what has been proposed. By what authority are Primates deemed acceptable or unacceptable members of any new primatial council? And how is effective discipline to be maintained in a situation of overlapping and competing jurisdictions?

No-one should for a moment impute selfish or malicious motives to those who have offered pastoral oversight to congregations in other provinces; these actions, however we judge them, arise from pastoral and spiritual concern. But one question has repeatedly been raised which is now becoming very serious: how is a bishop or primate in another continent able to discriminate effectively between a genuine crisis of pastoral relationship and theological integrity, and a situation where there are underlying non-theological motivations at work? We have seen instances of intervention in dioceses whose leadership is unquestionably orthodox simply because of local difficulties of a personal and administrative nature. We have also seen instances of clergy disciplined for scandalous behaviour in one jurisdiction accepted in another, apparently without due process. Some other Christian churches have unhappy experience of this problem and it needs to be addressed honestly.

It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve. This challenge is one of the most significant focuses for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. One of its major stated aims is to restore and deepen confidence in our Anglican identity. And this task will require all who care as deeply as the authors of the statement say they do about the future of Anglicanism to play their part.

The language of ‘colonialism’ has been freely used of existing patterns. No-one is likely to look back with complacency to the colonial legacy. But emerging from the legacy of colonialism must mean a new co-operation of equals, not a simple reversal of power. If those who speak for GAFCON are willing to share in a genuine renewal of all our patterns of reflection and decision-making in the Communion, they are welcome, especially in the shaping of an effective Covenant for our future together.

I believe that it is wrong to assume we are now so far apart that all those outside the GAFCON network are simply proclaiming another gospel. This is not the case; it is not the experience of millions of faithful and biblically focused Anglicans in every province. What is true is that, on all sides of our controversies, slogans, misrepresentations and caricatures abound. And they need to be challenged in the name of the respect and patience we owe to each other in Jesus Christ.

I have in the past quoted to some in the Communion who would call themselves radical the words of the Apostle in I Cor.11.33: ‘wait for one another’. I would say the same to those in whose name this statement has been issued. An impatience at all costs to clear the Lord’s field of the weeds that may appear among the shoots of true life (Matt.13.29) will put at risk our clarity and effectiveness in communicating just those evangelical and catholic truths which the GAFCON statement presents.

Resources:

• Canadian Primate responds to GAFCON statement
• Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA responds to GAFCON statement
• Final declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference
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The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20). GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit, and we hereby:

• launch the GAFCON movement as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans
• publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of the fellowship
• encourage GAFCON Primates to form a Council.
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Orthodox women: church participation improved but concerns remain

[WCC News] Over the last decade, Orthodox women reached significant milestones regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox women stated.

A long decade has passed since the last inter-Orthodox women’s consultation took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 1997. In the intervening years, the participation of Orthodox women in the life of the church has improved. Significant milestones range from the recognition of women’s issues by church structures to women’s participation in some church ministries and decision-making processes.

Many of the concerns of women, however, have not yet been fully addressed within the life of the church. A list of them includes: access to and funding for theological studies and subsequent employment opportunities within the church; supporting and equipping women for pastoral care and other church ministries; broader participation in church decision-making processes; taking a new look at prayers and practices associated with women’s biology.

These were amongst the main findings of a five-day long consultation, which brought together some 45 women from Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America. Meeting from 8-12 June in Volos, Greece, they discussed the participation, ministry and concerns of Orthodox women in the church and in the ecumenical movement.

Participants at the consultation recommended undertaking a full assessment of the current situation and needs of Orthodox women, given the many changes that have taken place over the last decade, as well as the development of a framework for future action. “We see the need to identify, together with our church leadership, the ways and instruments to implement decisions and recommendations of women’s consultations in our churches”, the participants stated in a report on the deliberations.

The consultation took place at the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and was sponsored by the World Council of Churches Programme for Women in Church and Society and hosted by the Diocese of Dimitrias.

Resources

• Full text of the Report of the Inter-Orthodox Consultation
• WCC Programme for Women in Church and Society
• Diocese of Dimitrias, Church of Greece (in Greek)
• Volos Academy for Theological Studies (partially in Greek)
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Femmes orthodoxes: leur participation dans l’Eglise progresse, mais des préoccupations demeurent

[COE] Au cours des dix dernières années, les femmes orthodoxes ont franchi des étapes importantes dans leur participation à la vie de l’Eglise, mais bon nombre de leurs inquiétudes n’ont pas été totalement apaisées, a-t-il été déclaré lors d’un rassemblement de femmes orthodoxes.

Une longue décennie s’est écoulée depuis que s’est tenu le dernier rassemblement de femmes orthodoxes, à Istanbul, en Turquie, en 1997. Dans cet intervalle, la participation des femmes orthodoxes à la vie de l’Eglise a progressé. Les étapes franchies vont de la reconnaissance des thématiques féminines par les structures de l’Eglise à la participation des femmes à différents ministères de l’Eglise dans le mouvement œcuménique et dans le processus de prise de décisions.

Beaucoup de préoccupations exprimées par les femmes n’ont cependant pas été pleinement entendues. Parmi elles, on peut citer l’accès aux études théologiques – y compris leur financement – et aux possibilités d’emploi qui en découlent au sein de l’Eglise; le soutien apporté aux femmes pour l’accompagnement pastoral et d’autres ministères au sein de l’Eglise; la participation accrue au processus de prise de décisions; et l’adoption d’une nouvelle approche concernant les prières et les pratiques associées à la biologie féminine.

Il s’agit là de quelques-unes des principales conclusions qui ont été présentées à l’issue du rassemblement de cinq jours, qui a réuni plus d’une quarantaine de femmes des Eglises orthodoxes d’Europe, du Moyen-Orient, d’Asie, d’Australie et d’Amérique du Nord. Réunies du 8 au 12 juin à Volos, en Grèce, elles ont évoqué la participation, le ministère et les préoccupations des femmes orthodoxes dans l’Eglise et dans le mouvement œcuménique.

Les participantes à la consultation ont recommandé de réaliser une évaluation complète de la situation actuelle et des besoins des femmes orthodoxes, en prenant en compte les nombreux changements qui sont intervenus au cours des dix dernières années, et d’élaborer un cadre pour l’action. “Nous voyons la nécessité de déterminer, en collaboration avec les dirigeants de nos Eglises, les moyens et les instruments permettant de mettre en œuvre dans nos Eglises les décisions et les recommandations prises lors des rassemblements de femmes”, ont indiqué les participantes dans un rapport sur les délibérations.

Le rassemblement s’est tenu à l’Académie d’études théologiques de Volos. Il a été soutenu par le Programme du Conseil œcuménique des Eglises pour les femmes dans l’Eglise et la société et organisé par le diocèse de Dimitrias.

Ressources :

• Texte intégral du rapport du Rassemblement interorthodoxe (en anglais)
• Programme du COE pour les femmes dans l’Eglise et la société
• Diocèse de Dimitrias, Eglise de Grèce (en grec)
• Académie d’études théologiques de Volos (en grec)
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The question of how Christians can witness to their faith in an interfaith world is never easy — and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is hoping to provide guidance in that through a new ecumenical policy statement.

With little discussion, the 218th General Assembly approved the new policy statement on June 25 – listing 10 priorities ranging from peacemaking to bringing more ecumenical voices to the table.

The assembly also reaffirmed the PC(USA)’s commitment to continue working through the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the National Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches, while at the same time strengthening other ecumenical relationships.

And the document contains a biblical and confessional section and an historical overview of the PC(USA)’s long-time ecumenical involvements – putting the 10 priorities into context.

The statement is an effort to explain “why we do what we do” in ecumenical work, said Edward W. Chan, an elder from Los Angeles and chair of the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations.

The last policy statements were written before the northern and southern branches of the Presbyterian Church re-united in 1983, and the world has changed a lot since then, Chan told the assembly.
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Liturgies for Christian Unity: The First Hundred Years, 1908-2008

Earlier this year, Canadian Council of Churches announced their latest publication, an anthology of prayers for Christian unity. Featuring a foreword by retired Anglican Archbishop Michael G. Peers, Liturgies for Christian Unity is an anthology of the very best approaches to celebrating common religious ground. Containing prayers and texts from the past 100 years of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, it offers a wide range of ideas for liturgies of all forms and sizes. Its inclusiveness and its usefulness make it a required resource for parishes, retreat centres, chaplains, and educators in all manner of situations.

This resource is the fruit of rich editorial work by the Faith and Witness Commission of the Canadian Council of Churches, under the guidance and leadership of Rev. Judee Archer-Greene, Rev. Richard Vandervaart and Dr. Mary Marrocco.

ISBN-13: 978-2-89507-958-3 • Price: $27.95 • Paperback, 200 pp., 8.5 x 11
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LWF Conference on the Protestant Understanding of Church in an Ecumenical Horizon

The Confessing Church in the Contemporary World

[Geneva • LWI] The Protestant understanding of the church is the central theme of an international conference of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) taking place at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute near Geneva, Switzerland.

Scholars from 11 countries are participating in the 12-16 June gathering, with the theme “The one holy, catholic and apostolic Church – reflections on the understanding of the church in an ecumenical horizon.” According to Rev. Dr Hans-Peter Grosshans, DTS Study Secretary for Theology, the meeting will help make the Evangelical Lutheran understanding of the church more visible. It is the “historical obligation of the Evangelical Lutheran church to make the ecclesiological consequences of Reformed theology clear to itself and to other churches,” he said prior to the meeting, being organized in collaboration with the University of Geneva Faculty of Theology.

Grosshans said the conference ushers in a new LWF/DTS study program, in which the phrase from the Nicene Creed “We believe in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” will be interpreted from the perspective of the Evangelical Lutheran church and contemporary Protestant theology and given new life.

The study program’s first meeting in Bossey will focus on the significance of the Nicene phrase in its entirety for today’s Protestant churches. Follow-up meetings to be held in South America, Asia and Africa, will examine significance of the four hallmarks of the church–oneness, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity–for today’s Protestant churches. The program will address questions such as: “What is the importance for Protestant churches of achieving the ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church? And what is meant, from a Protestant point of view, when referring to the church in terms of oneness, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity?”

Participants at the Bossey meeting come from Brazil, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Myanmar, Switzerland, United States of America and Zambia.

Different Contexts

While many of them are specialists on questions of ecclesiology, their experience of the concept of “church” occurs in very different contexts and extremely diverse religious, political, legal and economic situations, said Grosshans. “They represent various theological styles, methods and approaches, and demonstrate the great diversity of theological thinking within the Evangelical Lutheran church,” he added.

In addition to Lutheran scholars, other confessional traditions represented at the conference include the Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Baptists and Reformed. For Grosshans, the Evangelical Lutheran understanding of the church must not seek to assert itself in opposition to other Christian confessions, but rather with them. Emphasis must be placed on ecumenical dialogue and pursuing contextual attempts to define what church is and make it a reality.

Since the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) by representatives of the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, “church” has increasingly been the central theme of ecumenical dialogues, said Grosshans. The JDDJ reception made it poignantly clear that the main obstacle to church unity was the divergent conceptions of the church. The Evangelical Lutheran understanding of the church has, by and large, defined itself in terms of its difference with other confessions. Until now, Lutheran churches and Protestant theology have paid far too little attention to clarifying the understanding of church on the basis of their own principles.

He went on to say that the Protestant understanding of church therefore lacks a clear identity and consequently, an essential prerequisite toward making progress in ecumenical discussions on the topic of “church”. Until now Protestant churches have not been sufficiently successful in making clear how, based on their understanding of the church, they can bring about the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church in accordance with the Gospel and the implications this has for the life and organization of the churches. In many ways, Protestant churches have regressed with regard to Reformation ideals, due to their understanding of their own ecclesiality.

The rich and diverse experiences in many Lutheran churches all over the world, which could deepen our interpretation of these hallmarks of the church, have not been brought to fruition, he added.
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Canadian churches welcome PM’s apology on residential schools

Church leaders in Canada hope action will follow a public apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to victims of a policy whereby aboriginal children were placed in residential schools run by churches under a government policy of enforced assimilation.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the leader of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he was moved by the apology given by Harper in Ottawa on 11 June in the lower house of the Canadian parliament on behalf of the government, followed by apologies from other party leaders.

“I was very encouraged by their determination to make sure that this apology is seen as a beginning, and that it will be accompanied by actions that will significantly improve the quality of life for First Nations people in this land,” Hiltz said in an interview with the Anglican Journal after the prime minister’s statement.

A law passed by the government of Canada in 1920 made it compulsory for aboriginal children aged 7-15 to leave their communities and live in residences at schools run by churches including the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Church of Canada. The last of the schools closed in 1996.

During the 1980s former students began making allegations of sexual and physical abuse inflicted on them in the schools. In 2006, a class action suit on behalf of a group of students resulted in the awarding of the largest financial settlement in Canadian legal history.

“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history,” Harper said in his parliamentary speech. “Today, we recognise this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country. The government of Canada sincerely apologises and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”

The moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Rev. David Giuliano said his denomination hoped the apology would spark a substantive grass-roots response. “The 11 June apology offers the opportunity to begin the process of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation,” said Giuliano.

The 2006 settlement included provision for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first time the model used after the demise of apartheid in South Africa has been applied in a stable democracy.

The commission, headed by an aboriginal judge, Justice Harry S. LaForme, has a five-year mandate to travel throughout the country to meet former students. LaForme, a member of the Mississauga tribe, is joined by commissioners Jane Morley, a lawyer, and Claudette Dumont-Smith, an aboriginal nurse from the Algonquin tribe.

“We know what occurred,” said LaForme. “What we now want to hear are the stories from themselves not so we can punish, but so we can walk forward into the future and build a new relationship.”

In Geneva on 13 June the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Ishmael Noko welcomed the Canadian government public apology to the First Nations, as a significant indication of the willingness to confront painful legacies of injustice against Indigenous Peoples.

“Honest examination of past wounds is a necessary step to the healing of memories. I pray that these apologies represent the beginnings of an open process of deeper reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-indigenous peoples,” said Noko, who is a Zimbabwean.
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Historic apology to residential schools students seen as a beginning

[Art Babych • Anglican Journal] Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, today said he was moved by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology to victims of residential schools and is optimistic that the historic apology – made on behalf of the Canadian government – will be followed by action.

“I was equally grateful for the apologies – and that’s what they were – offered on behalf of the other political parties,” he said in an interview with the Anglican Journal on Parliament Hill after Mr. Harper delivered the apology in the House of Commons June 11, followed by apologies from the other party leaders. “I was very encouraged by their determination to make sure that this apology is seen as a beginning, and that it will be accompanied by actions that will significantly improve the quality of life for First Nations people in this land,” the primate said.

The government’s apology was directed at the generations of victims of what Mr. Harper called “a sad chapter in our history” and asked for forgiveness for the students’ suffering and for the damaging impact the schools had on aboriginal culture, heritage and language.

Aboriginal leaders and abuse victims, among them Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, were in the chamber as Mr. Harper delivered the apology.

“Today, we recognize this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country,” said Mr. Harper. “The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.

“The Government of Canada now recognizes it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes … to separate children from rich and vibrant traditions,” he said. “We apologize for having done this.”

Mr. Harper also noted that while some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, “these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities.”

Several First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders spoke in the chamber in response to the government’s apology with Mr. Fontaine – wearing a traditional aboriginal headdress – calling it “the achievement of the impossible.” He added: “Finally we have heard Canada say it is sorry.”

Clement Chartier, Métis National Council President thanked the government for the apology and said, “It has taken courage and conviction on the parts of many, many people to confront this dark period in Canada’s history.”

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said the apology “is about a past that should have been completely different.” But, he added, “it must be also about the future. It must be about collective reconciliation and fundamental changes.”

Native groups and leaders of the four churches that operated the residential schools on behalf of the federal government – Anglican, Roman Catholic, United and Presbyterian – had urged the government to consult with First Nations leaders in the drafting of the apology.

The government rejected the idea but Archbishop Hiltz said the groups seemed satisfied that the apology had the necessary ingredients. These included “acknowledgement of a policy of assimilation that was flawed and wrong in its inception, words of contrition on the part of the government for removing children from their families, (and) words of contrition for abuse which many of them suffered in the school,” he said.

Bishop Mark MacDonald, the national indigenous bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he was pleased with the government’s apology. “I’m going to be processing it for a long time,” he told the Journal. “It was an extraordinary event and I was very happy with what I heard and moved by what I heard and I’m filled with all kinds of emotions. So it will take me a while to process it. But I thought it was an extraordinary day and one of the best days of my life.”

Bishop MacDonald and Archbishop Hiltz, along with other church leaders and scores of First Nations people watched the proceedings in the House of Commons on screens set up in two large meetings rooms nearby. Also in attendance were Archdeacon Sidney Black and the Rev. Gloria Moses, co-chairs of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples.

More than 1,000 others watched from outside the House of Commons where a big screen television was set up. About 30 events marking the historic formal apology were organized in cities and communities across Canada. The Anglican Church of Canada urged parishes to ring their church bells at 3 p.m., the time Mr. Harper was scheduled to deliver the apology.

After the apology was delivered, Mr. Harper and Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl led the procession from the House to one of the rooms for a smudging ceremony, the presentation of tobacco and tea to aboriginal elders, and the signing of the Statement of Apology.

Eleven of the special guests, including Mr. Fontaine and 104-year-old Marguerite Wabano, the oldest residential school survivor, were presented with a framed Statement of Apology from Mr. Harper, and congratulations and hugs from Governor General Michaëlle Jean.

The government’s apology to residential school students comes 15 years after the Anglican Church of Canada, through former primate Archbishop Michael Peers, issued an apology for its involvement in the schools. The church ran about 30 of the schools between 1820 and 1969. About 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken from their communities over most of the last century and forced to attend state-funded but church-run boarding schools aimed at assimilating them.

(Art Babych is the editor of Crosstalk, the monthly newspaper of the diocese of Ottawa.)
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Prime Minister’s statement of apology to Aboriginal peoples

The following statement was read by the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, in the House of Commons on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. The text below was released by the Prime Minister’s Office. French sections, which repeat the English text, have been excluded.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history.

In the 1870’s, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools.

Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.

These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.

Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child.”

Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.

Most schools were operated as “joint ventures” with Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian or United churches.

The government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far from their communities.

Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed.

All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools.

Tragically, some of these children died while attending residential schools and others never returned home.

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language.

While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities.

The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today. It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered.

It is a testament to their resilience as individuals and to the strength of their cultures.

Regrettably, many former students are not with us today and died never having received a full apology from the government of Canada.

The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation.

Therefore, on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian residential schools system.

To the approximately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and communities, the government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you.

Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry.

The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long.

The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country.

There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail.

You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey.

The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.

We are sorry.

In moving towards healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of Indian residential schools, implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007.

Years of work by survivors, communities, and aboriginal organizations culminated in an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward together in partnership.

A cornerstone of the settlement agreement is the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This commission presents a unique opportunity to educate all Canadians on the Indian residential schools system.

It will be a positive step in forging a new relationship between aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.
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Government of Canada apologizes to Aboriginal peoples

In what has been widely described as an historic opportunity for reconciliation with aboriginal peoples, the Prime Minister of Canada rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday to apologize to aboriginal peoples for the residential schools operated under government supervision by the Anglican, Presbyterian, United and Catholic churches. The apology was carried live on television and radio across Canada, and provided an opportunity for Canadians to pause to reflect on the legacy of these schools and the policies that they enacted.

Residential schools were developed in the 1870s as part of a policy of assimilation. As the PM explained: “Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child.’ Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.”

In addition to the general apology for the residential schools, the PM also expressed five specific apologies:

“Therefore, on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian residential schools system.

To the approximately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and communities, the government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow, and we apologize for having done this.

We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you.

Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry.”

Resources:

• The full text of the PM’s apology
• Video of the PM’s apology (CBC.ca)
• In depth background information by the CBC on Residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• Historic apology to residential schools students seen as a beginning (Anglican Journal)
• After the Apology of June 11, 2008: A Prayer (United Church of Canada)
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