Canadian Catholics push for Indigenous voices at Rome conference

ROME — Ken Thorson hopes a final report from a month-long theological conference highlights the need for Canadian Roman Catholics to engage with Indigenous people.

“I hope it prioritizes and invites churches to be open to Indigenous people and their concerns,” Thorson, head of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Canada, said as the Synod of Synodality wraps up this week in Rome.

For him, that could mean seeing churches integrating Indigenous spirituality and practices into their liturgy and prayers. “If Indigenous people can see themselves in the liturgy, it can be healing,” he said.

The church in Canada should also involve Indigenous people more in discernment and decisions about issues that impact them, Thorson said.

“We need to create more ways to continue and advance reconciliation,” he said, adding it should involve all levels of the church — bishops, priests, lay people and members of religious orders. “Through many small steps, we can move conversations forward.”

The synod, with its emphasis on inclusiveness and listening, can aid in that process by encouraging Catholics to “widen our circles to include more Indigenous voices, especially younger Indigenous people,” he said.

Thorson sees a role for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in this area.

“The bishops have a significant role to play to make sure reconciliation happens, to help people listen and make space for Indigenous voices,” he said. “We have a lot to learn from Indigenous people.”

Bishop William McGrattan, president of the conference and member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary, said reconciliation involves walking and listening together.

This includes raising money for the Indigenous Healing Fund, which helps Indigenous people reclaim their culture and language. So far, the fund has received more than $17 million in donations for 180 projects to promote reconciliation. They hope to raise a total of $30 million.

“We are doing what we promised Pope Francis we would do,” McGrattan said.

Joe Gunn’s job is to learn how the church can serve marginalized people, including Indigenous people across the world.

“The goal is to come up with ideas for how to better listen to the cry of the poor,” said Gunn, a member of a synodal study group that will also listen about how climate change is affecting the earth.

Gunn, formerly the director of Centre Oblat-A Voice for Justice in Ottawa, said he’d like to see the conference create a national gathering of Catholic Indigenous leaders.

“Let’s use the synodal process to help us keep going forward,” he said.

Delegates gathered this month to discuss the future of the Catholic Church during the Synod of Synodality.

By John Longhurst

Published on The Free Press website