FSIN calls for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is urging Catholics to put further pressure on leaders of the church to acknowledge its role in the residential school system.

The FSIN is suggesting a boycott of Sunday mass.

Kinistin Chief Felix Thomas wondered how the Roman Catholic hierarchy would feel if pews remained empty.

“This is something that everybody and every Christian can do is have that show of solidarity and not show up for church on Sunday,” Thomas said during a media conference Friday morning.

The FSIN is renewing its calls for accountability less than a week after Pope Francis spoke to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square expressing sorrow, but fell short of the direct apology for the church’s role in residential schools that many Canadians have been requesting.

“This has been going on for 30-plus years and that’s something we want to emphasize,” Thomas said. “It’s been a long time coming and this has to be the finish line.”

Kinistin Chief Felix Thomas (left) and FSIN Vice Chief David Pratt speak to reporters on June 11, 2021.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in British Columbia announced on May 27 a discovery of what it believes to be the remains of an estimated 215 children buried on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

FSIN Vice Chief David Pratt said the discovery has opened up old wounds. He’s extending an invitation to Pope Francis to come to Saskatchewan to tour residential schools and experience the lasting trauma.

Pratt further requested the Catholic church preserve and release records of residential schools, which operated between 1831 and 1996.

He asked the church to work with survivors and follow cultural protocols and ceremonies, as well as ensure ground radar searches happen in the province along with accessible mental health supports for survivors.

Pratt wasn’t stopping there, suggesting Pope Francis is unfit to lead the church.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you cannot recognize the harms and impacts that you and your organization has done to individuals, I think you’ve lost the moral leadership to be able to address and speak on behalf of your congregates,” Pratt said.

On Thursday, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) said it has been preparing a delegation of Indigenous people to travel to the Vatican for a visit with Pope Francis for more than two years.

“This pastoral visit will include the participation of a diverse group of elders/knowledge keepers, residential school survivors and youth from across the country,” the CCCB said in a statement.

“The event will likewise provide Pope Francis with a unique opportunity to hear directly from Indigenous Peoples, express his heartfelt closeness, address the impact of colonization and the implication of the church in the residential schools, so as to respond to the suffering of Indigenous Peoples and the ongoing effects of intergenerational trauma.”

Pratt said discoveries like the one in Kamloops won’t be the last, and the Catholic “church needs to do what’s right” to help heal survivors’ wounds.