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Pope Francis slammed for wearing native headdress while giving grovelling apology for heinous abuse

During the landmark visit, the Pope apologized to Indigenous survivors for the 'cultural destruction' at Church-run residential schools

Pope Francis visited Maskwacis in Alberta, Canada, to apologize to Canada’s native people for the Church's role in schools where indigenous students were harassed and sexually abused. He expressed "sorrow, indignation and shame" for the actions carried out by members of the Roman Catholic Church who were responsible for managing the majority of residential schools in Canada.

The 85-year-old Pope, who is still using a wheelchair and cane post his knee fracture, said, "With shame and unambiguously, I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples." The Pope has also tweeted a series of messages on his official account while on the week-long apology tour of Canada, fulfilling his promise he made to indigenous delegations that visited him earlier this year at the Vatican. Apologizing to the community, the Pope said, "I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry."

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While addressing indigenous groups in the Bear Park Pow-Wow Grounds, part of the ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux people, he said, "Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children.” Post his apology, he wore a traditional Indian headdress that was presented to him by Indigenous leaders. Many people saw this as an opportunity to troll the Pope. 

Pope Francis gets trolled for wearing an Indian headdress

One user said he "felt off" after seeing the Pope donning a traditional headgear and wrote, "Gifting someone feathers is in addition to being an honor, is having certainty that the feathers will be in the absolute best hands, in the most reverent hands, who understands the depth & sensitivities of your culture, beliefs, way of life. That's why it just feels so off." Another user wrote, "So Pope Francis was gifted a headdress… My PERSONAL opinion: it feels like a slap in the face, you black out for a second & go “Wait? What just happened…?” Like I want to be angry because of what the headdress symbolizes in our culture but I can’t-I’m tired of being angry"

One user pointed out that the Pople needs to do more than just donning a headdress and wrote, "Indigenous People across the Catholic World should be given importance to promote and preserve their religious customs & traditions trampled upon by a section of migrants. Vatican has give more importance to migrants and Indigenous People feel sidelined." Another user wrote, "Not sure who that is, but like the rest of them, I guess we’re supposed to play dumb & go along. So, I’ll feign the outrage at Pope Pedo Francis donning a Native American Headdress & say my ancestors would be more likely to lie down a curse on him than powwow with him."

One angry user called the Pope a traitor and tweeted, "I'm sorry, but I find this shameful. All the worthless prayers, all the tears, all the "I'm so sorry" will never eradicate the genocide committed on the Native Indigenous People's of the America's and the Caribbean. Never crown the traitor!" Another user said, "I wonder what will happen to the headdress and other traditonal gifts that Pope Francis (the Church) is being given during this visit? Will these culturally sensitive/significant items be respectfully cared for? "

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