Pope Francis apologises for ‘deplorable’ residential school abuse

For decades, Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools across Canada, where they were subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse [Yara Nardi/Reuters]

Warning: The story below contains details of residential schools that may be upsetting. Canada’s Indian Residential School Survivors and Family Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.

Pope Francis has apologised for abuses that members of the Roman Catholic Church committed at Canada’s residential schools, which Indigenous children were forced to attend for decades and aimed to forcibly assimilate them into mainstream European culture.