Catholic Church Spent Millions of Dollars on Lawyers and Administration for Indian Internship Victims in Canada

Posted:

July 31, 2021 10:37 GMT

In recent months, hundreds of bodies have been found in various Indigenous prisons across Canada.

The Vatican spent a significant portion of the agreed compensation as a method of reconciliation with the victims of residential schools for indigenous peoples in Canada, administered by the Holy See between 1890 and 1977, according to court documents obtained by the CBC channel.

Under the treaty, signed in 2005 by the Vatican along with three other schools operating churches – Anglican, Union of Canada and Presbyterian – it was to pay survivors $ 23.2 million and $ 20 million in services. in nature.

However, the documents indicate that $ 2.2 million was paid to lawyers and $ 1.8 million was spent on administration. Regarding the services, the accountant of the Catholic Church testified that he provided them for the entire sum, although since “he has not audited these registers and accounts, he has no basis to assess. these services and is based solely on the minutes of the meetings. Likewise, other possible irregularities were discovered, such as the absence of annual financial statements of the Catholic Church until 2012.

Macabre discoveries

In recent months, hundreds of bodies have been found in various Indigenous internment centers across Canada, triggering several protests in which Catholic churches have been set on fire.

After the remains of 215 students were found, Pope Francis expressed his “pain” and urged religious and political authorities to commit to clarifying what happened. However, he did not issue a formal apology.

For this reason, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, urged the Pope to visit the country to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in the administration of these internees and assured that the population is “horrified and shameful ”by government policy forcing indigenous children to attend these schools.