Pope wraps up Canada tour with 2 meetings with Indigenous groups

Pope Francis finished his 6-day visit to Canada with meetings in Quebec City and Iqaluit.

A farewell ceremony took place before the Pope boarded his plane to return to the Vatican.

With his pilgrimage of penance wrapping up, Pope Francis spoke with Indigenous leaders from eastern Canada Friday morning in Quebec City.

It was the Pope’s final event in Quebec City before he headed to Iqaluit, where he met with residential school survivors and participated in a community ceremony.

The reaction there to the Pope’s visit and apology earlier this week for the Church’s role in the residential school system is mixed.

On Monday, he visited the former Ermineskin Residential School, where after praying among the graves of children who died there, he delivered the long-awaited apology.

That apology has been criticized by some because he apologized for the actions of members of the Church but not for the role the Church as an institution played in the system.

Mohawk Institute survivor Doug George-Kanentiio said, “We need the Church to acknowledge that crimes were committed and to accept responsibility for those crimes.”