“Papa Don’t Preach”: Imagining a Theology of Apology in Canada

Abstract

Considering the ninety-four Calls to Action published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (trc), this article aims to articulate how a “theology of apology” might shape Roman Catholic mission in Canada. It begins by examining Roman Catholic participation in the trc and interrogating the absence of a formal Roman Catholic apology. By highlighting the importance of centralizing the lived experiences of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (fnmi) peoples, it also unsettles conventional Catholic understandings of liberation theology in a Canadian context. The radical possibility of a decolonized understanding of Church mission is proposed as a pedagogy for confronting ecclesial culpability in residential schools. Finally, this article unpacks the ecclesiological implications of a theology of apology as an ecumenical praxis of being allies, through love of neighbour, with Indigenous peoples, and it envisions the possibilities of right relationality among (settler) Roman Catholics in Canada with FNMI communities and the land.