The US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a formal apology on Friday to Indigenous people for the mistreatment and trauma inflicted by the Catholic Church. This apology is part of a document approved by US Catholic bishops during its annual spring meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
The document, titled “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry,” not only includes the apology but also delves into the church’s historical role in the boarding schools for Native Americans that enforced assimilation in the 19th and 20th centuries. Additionally, the document outlines a series of new policies for ministering to Indigenous Catholics.
