Pope 'asked for our forgiveness,' Manitoba Mtis Federation president says after Vatican meeting

Tears, smiles and a request for absolution marked a meeting between a Mtis delegation andPope Francis in Vatican City on Wednesday asthe head of the Catholic Church offered more apologies for abuses suffered at Canada's residential schools.

"He actually asked for our forgiveness. He said how ashamed he was for this to happen to our people and he asked us to pray for him also," David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Mtis Federation, told CBC's Heather Hiscoxafter the historic meeting.

As Andrew Carrier, "one of the victims of the predators of the church," spoke about sexual abuse at the schools, Francis watched attentively "and you could see the emotion in his face,"Chartrand said.

"For him to say that we should pray for him, too, was I think to tell us that he, too, is human that he, too, needs help."

The Pope's reaction was similar to that described by theIndigenous delegationswho met with himnearly three weeks earlierbut was no less powerful,Chartrandsaid.

And then Francisdid something Chartrand saidcaughtthe archbishops off guard.

WATCH |Manitoba Mtis leader said Pope asked for forgiveness in meeting:

Manitoba Mtis leader calls Pope meeting a touching moment

2 years ago

Duration 2:09

Pope Francis asked for forgiveness, in a meeting with the Manitoba Mtis Federation, for the abuses suffered in Canadas residential schools. David Chartrand, the federations president, says the meeting was a touching moment for delegates who also extended an invitation for the pontiff to visit Winnipeg to bless Louis Riels gravesite.

"He shook every one of our delegation's hands and gave every one of them a gift. So everyone had a chance to speak privately for a few seconds each to the Pope. It was such a touching moment for everybody," he said.

"Many were just crying in tears as they got their gift and their handshake from the Pope. And he stayed with us and he signed ourself-government agreementthat recognized theMtisasthe self-government of the people of the Red River.

"So many things happened in that room. No doubt the interaction was magic."

Canada forced more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Mtischildren to attend residential schools from the 1880s until 1996, a policy the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called "cultural genocide."

Francis toldthe Indigenous delegations on April 1 that he was sorry for what he called the "deplorable conduct" of some members of the Catholic Church and a "lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values."

Chartrand said his delegation had about 55 people, includingrepresentatives from Saskatchewan as well as elders and youth.

They presented Francis with a timeline of the Mtis connection to the Catholic Church, dating back to 1817, as they asked him to include Winnipeg in a papal visit to Canada expected in late July.

"We had it translated in Spanish for him so he was reading it as I was speaking and expressing to him that Winnipeg is the largest Indigenous population anywhere in Canada and it would be a fitting place for him to come," Chartrand said.

Winnipeg is not one of the three Canadian cities that, according to sources involved inplanning the trip,arebeing strongly considered for the Pope's visit.

Chartrandsaid he hopes to change that and have Francis bless the grave of Louis Riel, the Mtis leader who was instrumental in the creation of Manitoba andledresistance movementsto defend Mtis rights and identity.

Riel challenged Canada's legal right to divide up land to which it did not yet hold title, but rather than a gun, he carried a cross and was a devout Catholic, Chartrand said.

It was the church that sponsored Riel to become a priest, sending him to Montrealwhen he was a young manto study for the priesthood, Chartrand said.

Riel, who was executed for treason in Regina in 1885,is buried at St. Boniface Cathedral cemetery in Winnipeg.

"He gave his life not only to us, he gave his life to the church," Chartrand said, emphasizing the need for people to recognize the church is still sacred toMtis, despite the tragedies of residential schools.

Theevilperpetrated in those schools was done by individuals, he said.

"It wasn't the church itself, it wasn't the Bible, it was not God's way or God's message. We know that these individuals that did this caused great harm to so many, including the Catholic Church."

Carrier, a survivor of thoseschools, agreed.

"We have always been supported by the church," hesaid during a news conference later Wednesday, "but we need to understand we have to do a better job to protect the children, wherever we are, from any forms of abuse in order for them to be healthy and to learn and to be respected."

'We can't change history'

Chartrandand Carrier werechallenged by reporters about their defence of thechurch, in spite of thestated intent of the residential school system to erase Indigenous culture.

Chartrand said, based on what he heard from Francis, the church concedes mistakes and harm that will take generations to overcome.

"There's no way in hell this would ever happen again, not in this era. So from that standpoint, 'how do we go forward?' is the question all of us have to ask," Chartrand said."Many of us are now leading that new pathway."

To that end, Francis was also presented with two crosses and a pair of slippers, allbeaded in traditionalMtis style.

"The purpose of the red slippers was for him to walk with us as we go into hope and we go into a revitalization of how do we bring back the church into our communities, how do we bring back ourselves together to walkon this journey," Chartrand said.

"We can't change history, we can't change the past, but we can change the future. And that was kind of the message we were giving him.

Francis gave each of the delegates a rosary blessed by him and presented the group as a whole with an olive branch as a gesture of peace and reconciliation.

Chartrand,the longest-serving MMF president in hisseventh term, admitted he felt humbled in the presence of Francis.

"I've been in politics for a long time. I've spoken before thousands of people on many occasions all over the world, but this particular one, I was nervous," he said.

"I was just proud to be close enough to him and to acknowledge and shake his hand andjust be there with him. I left with such a happy heart."

As for acommitment from Francis to includeWinnipeg in his July visit, Chartrand acknowledged the 85-year-old's health could be a challenge during a three- or four-day trip.

"I saidif you cannot make it I understand," Chartrand said at thenews conference.

"I was hoping he'd say he's going to come to my house for dinner, but that did not happen."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.