Why has the United Church apologized for its role in residential schools?
In 1986 the Moderator apologized to First Nations peoples within the United Church for the times in which the church had linked acceptance of European culture and the corresponding suppression of First Nations cultures to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While there was no direct reference to residential schools in this apology, it is clear that the schools were an important part of the national policy of assimilation and suppression of spiritual ceremonies. In 1997 the General Council committed the church to a journey of repentance in relation to its role in the residential schools system. In 1998, the General Council Executive formally apologized for its complicity in the system. It did so because the church had heard the stories of suffering wrought by the separation of children from communities and families, the suppression of culture and spirituality, and cases of sexual and physical abuse that occurred in many residential schools. The apology arose out of a sense of a c
