Canada’s Indian Residential School system began in the 1880s when the Catholic and Protestant churches, in conjunction with the Canadian government, started removing Indigenous children from their homes to send them to schools scattered across the country. The last school wasn’t shut down until the 1990s. Thousands never returned and the recent discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of several former schools has put a new focus on the tragedy. The impact of intergenerational trauma because of sexual and physical abuse, as well as an attempt to eliminate Indigenous language and culture, is still being felt today.

A class-action settlement brought by school survivors led to the creation of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which spent years looking into the residential schools. In 2015, the commission released a ground-breaking report which contained 94 “calls to action.” No. 58 called on the Pope to come to Canada to issue an apology to “survivors, their families and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse …”

So it was no surprise that on his first visit to Canada last week, Pope Francis asked for “forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.” There were split opinions among Indigenous people and theologians about whether the apology went far enough.

There’s likely to be a lasting controversy of the Pope’s visit. On his flight back to Rome, he told reporters that “to take away children, to change the culture, their mindset, their traditions” was “genocide.” Yet he didn’t use the term at any of his Canadian appearances. The Conversation provided extensive coverage of the visit, and will continue to produce journalism grounded in research and academic expertise on this issue.

Meanwhile, in Australia the weekend saw a significant step forward in the struggle for Indigenous rights. Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, made a key speech furthering the government’s commitment to enshrining a First Nations Voice to parliament.

And at Wembley Stadium, London, England’s women footballers capped a joyful celebration of the world’s most popular sport by winning the European Championship for the first time. It is a moment, writes John Williams, who studies the sociology of football and football fan culture, that could mark a key moment in the development of the game.

Scott White

Editor-in-Chief, The Conversation Canada

National heroes? England’s women footballers have gained a huge following during the 2022 Euros. EPA-EFE/Andrew Yates

England win Euro 2022: how women’s football beat the sceptics to breathe new life into the game

John Williams, University of Leicester

Women’s football is winning hearts and minds in Britain. But there’s still a lot of work to do to overcome ingrained male prejudice.

AAP/Aaron Bunch

View from The Hill: Albanese takes welcome first step but government needs to produce Voice detail

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The prime minister has made a good start on a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. But as always, the details will be crucial.

Pope Francis arrives to a hero’s welcome at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on July 26, 2022, to take part in a public mass. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

I survived the ’60s Scoop. Here’s why the Pope’s apology isn’t an apology at all

Lori Campbell, University of Regina

Apologizing for people versus the establishment that upheld not only the Indian Residential Schools system but protected – and continues to protect — the people who committed the crimes is horrifying.

NoViolet Bulawayo’s new novel is an instant Zimbabwean classic

Tinashe Mushakavanhu, University of Oxford

Playing out in an animal kingdom, Glory is a devastating political commentary on Zimbabwe today.