Healing and Reconciliation: The Church's Commitment to Indigenous Peoples

In a historic move that goes beyond symbolism and turns into concrete action, the Catholic Church in Canada is advancing a difficult yet essential process of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Central to this effort is the creation of a C$30 million fund to support projects aimed at caring for and reconciling with Indigenous Peoples. This is a pact to finance cultural reconstruction, with the original communities as protagonists.

On the celebration of the Jubilee of Indigenous Peoples, held in October 2025, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, emphasized that this Jubilee was an invitation to the mercy of God, who continually renews all things. He noted that the voice of Indigenous Peoples, their cry for the land, for life, and for peace, is a prophetic call to all humanity, especially at a time when our common home is suffering under the weight of exploitation and indifference to the suffering of so many. For this reason, he affirmed that Indigenous Peoples are “a gift to the universal Church and a blessing for the entire human family.”

A fund with a specific purpose and shared governance

Supported by donations from 73 Canadian dioceses, the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (Fonds de Réconciliation avec les Autochtones) is overseen by an Indigenous-led board, ensuring transparency and the trust of the communities it serves. Its funding priorities include community and family care, the revitalization of Indigenous languages and cultures, education and community empowerment, and dialogue on Indigenous spirituality.

“There is no single step that can eliminate the pain felt by residential school survivors, but by listening, seeking relationships, and working collaboratively where we are able, we hope to learn how to walk together in a new path of hope”, emphasizes His Excellency William McGrattan, Vice-President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).

The leading role of Indigenous communities

The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) finances indigenous-led projects structured around four pillars to repair historical damage, combat cultural erasure, and strengthen autonomy. The first pillar, Culture-Based Healing and Recovery, promotes trauma healing through traditional practices, such as recovery camps based on Blackfoot teachings and the integration of holistic care in health centers. The second, Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Cultures, combats language extinction with initiatives ranging from the construction of cultural centers to programs that transform elders into mentors of indigenous languages.

The other two pillars complement the fund's work. The Education, Truth, and Community Strengthening pillar invests in historical clarification and care infrastructure by funding research into the history of residential schools, supporting the maintenance of support offices, and the construction of cultural centers. Finally, the Indigenous Spirituality Dialogue and Integration pillar seeks to include Indigenous worldviews in public institutions, for example by creating positions for spiritual care providers in hospitals and organizing camps that reconnect young people with the land and traditional spirituality.

“Doctrine of Discovery”: the Holy See asks forgiveness from indigenous peoples

In a historic document published on March 30, 2023, the Holy See formally denied the “Doctrine of Discovery”, rejecting it as part of Catholic teaching and acknowledging that papal bulls from the 15th and 16th centuries were used to justify colonization. "The Church is also aware that the contents of these documents were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical authorities. It is only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon”. Furthermore, Pope Francis urged: ““Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others", a passage from the document states. The joint statement by the two Dicasteries (Dicastery for Culture and Education and Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) asks for forgiveness for the errors and suffering imposed on indigenous peoples, endorsing the path of dialogue and respect for indigenous cultures.