Catholic Church apologises for century of abuses in Canada's residential schools - FRANCE24

 The Catholic Church apologized "unequivocally" on Friday to Canada's indigenous peoples for a century of abuses at church-run residential schools set up by the government to assimilate children into the mainstream.

But indigenous leaders are still awaiting a mea culpa from the pope himself.

"We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our profound remorse and apologize unequivocally," read a statement, in which they said they were "fully committed" to reconciliation.

The move follows recent discoveries, which convulsed Canada, of some 1,200 unmarked graves at three sites where indigenous children were forced to attend the schools.

In total, some 150,000 Indian, Metis and Inuit children were enrolled from the late 1800s to the 1990s in 139 of the residential schools across Canada, spending months or years isolated from the families...