National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
On 8 February 2023, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued four pastoral letters on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Intended as a framework for local engagement with Indigenous Peoples, the letters are the fruit of many months of listening, encounter, and dialogue with them, including through Listening Circles, the Indigenous Delegation to the Vatican in April 2022, and Pope Francis’ Apostolic Voyage to Canada in July 2022.
For Canada and our province of Nova Scotia, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a solemn moment in Canada’s journey toward justice. It is a day to honour the children who never returned home, the survivors of residential schools, and the families and communities who continue to carry the weight of this history. It calls on all of us to confront truths that were long denied and to recommit ourselves to building a society rooted in dignity, compassion, and respect. This day is also honoured as Orange Shirt Day which recalls the story shared by former residential school student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad about her first day at residential school as a six-year old girl when her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her.
y of the same year.
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