BCAFN Responds to the Passing of Pope Francis: A Call for Continued Reconciliation and Justice

Press Release

April 22, 2025

(Lheidli T’enneh Territory, Prince George, BC) The BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) extends condolences to members of the Catholic Church who are mourning Pope Francis’s death. Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis undertook an important shift within the Vatican by acknowledging the profound harms perpetuated by the Catholic Church upon Indigenous peoples in Canada and beyond.

In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Call to Action #58, Pope Francis attended former Residential Schools in Canada in 2022 to issue a formal apology to Survivors and their families for the role of the Catholic Church in the Residential School system.

“Pope Francis took important steps to confront the Catholic Church’s legacy of colonial violence. He officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullius, both of which were used

to justify centuries of colonization and oppression of Indigenous peoples, including the theft of our lands and cultures,” said BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee. “Pope Francis was also a key voice for urgent global issues, including the climate crisis, where his calls to action echoed the continued calls from Indigenous Peoples across the world to protect our lands and waters,” he continued.

The passing of Pope Francis is a stark reminder of the Catholic Church’s responsibility for advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada. BCAFN continues to call on the Church and the Vatican to support First Nations language revitalization, invest in mental health and addictions services, repatriate sacred items and land back to First Nations and provide full transparency to all church records relating to residential schools and missing children to ensure justice and truth for Survivors and their families.

“We continue to seek truth, healing and redress for the intergenerational harms caused by the Catholic Church. In the wake of Residential School denialism, transparency and commitment to the truth from the Catholic Church have never been more important. Pope Francis took symbolic steps to acknowledge these harms, but symbolism is meaningless without sustained action. We call on the Vatican and Pope Francis’ successor to continue to advance his legacy and commit to fulfilling the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action,” concluded Regional Chief Terry Teegee.

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Media contact: Annette Schroeter, BCAFN Communications Officer, (778) 281-1655

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