INDEPTH: POPE JOHN PAUL II
The Pope's aboriginal connection
CBC News Online
Pope John Paul II kisses a native Indian woman while holding the Talking Stick in B.C. Place Stadium before a crowd of 65,000, Sept. 18, 1984. (CP Photo/Joe Marquette) |
John Paul II first came to Canada in the summer of 1984. The trip was to include a four-hour visit to the Dene community in Fort Simpson, on the banks of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories. It would have been the first visit by any world leader to a Canadian aboriginal community.
National aboriginal organizations had planned to host the Pope for the Aboriginal Conference of Catholic Bishops in Fort Simpson.
But late summer in Fort Simpson can bring weather that makes travelling extremely hazardous. Heavy fog shrouded the village. The Pope's flight was diverted to Yellowknife and he had to cancel his visit. He promised to return – as soon as his schedule would allow it.
"Sorry, but I invite myself back to Canada," he told reporters in Ottawa.
He made good on his promise three years later – almost to the day. The Pope was on his way to the United States when he took time out to meet with the Dene.
Sept. 20, 1987, starts off overcast with a steady drizzle. Panic sets in as organizers recall the conditions that prevented the Pope from visiting the remote village back in 1984. There's a collective sigh of relief when the sun finally breaks through just in time for the Pope's five-hour visit.
He prayed for and with aboriginal people. He made time for everyone. Among them was
Murial Betsina.
"He said 'hello' and he said 'how are you?' I told him 'I'm very fine and I asked him if he was cold. I told him, 'it's September, are you cold?' 'Yeah, very much so,' he said. I told him I got a lot of sweaters and blankets and he passed by and had a big smile on his face. That's how I remember him."
Steven Kakfwi – president of Dene nation at the time – said it was extraordinary for a world leader to visit aboriginal people in Canada. Kakfwi said the papal visit brought their issues to the attention of millions of people around the world.
"For the first time, people in Europe, Asia, the Orient and Africa saw aboriginal people of Canada – what the Pope called Denedeh. They realized there are aboriginal people in Canada and one of the world's foremost leaders was there to acknowledge them."
Many of the people who were there remember a humble man who had time for the elders and the young. They say he didn't have to meet with them in their remote home.
"He is a great man and it was a wonderful experience for our people," Kakfwi said.
At the end of the day, the Pope expressed his support for the struggle for native rights. He called for a new round of constitutional talks to address the issue of native rights.
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Pope John Paul II led the world's Roman Catholics since he was the surprise choice of the College of Cardinals on Oct. 16, 1978.
Born in Poland on May 18, 1920, Karol Wojtyla (pronounced voy-TIH-wah) was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI, who died in 1523.
He was the 264th pope, and ranks among the three who have served longest, with St. Peter (32-67) and Blessed Pius IX (1846-78).
John Paul was the most travelled pope, having visited almost 130 countries and territories - including Canada, three times.
He was a conservative pope in terms of doctrine, rejecting the ordination of women, forbidding priests from marrying, backing an international campaign against same-sex unions and opposing birth control and abortion.
But he's also credited with helping end communist rule in Eastern Europe.
John Paul tried to reconcile Christians and Jews, and the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
He declared 476 new saints and beatified 1,320 people, many more than his predecessors.
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