The Journey Presses on: Pope Francis's Apology to Residential School Survivors in Canada (Advancing Studies in Religion)

In July 2022 Pope Francis travelled to Canada on what he called a “penitential pilgrimage,” apologizing for the Catholic Church’s role in the Indian residential school system.One of Francis’s most symbolically charged interventions, the visit has been understood as an attempt to align his broader legacy of pastoral humility, attention to the margins, and critique of colonial power with concrete acts of repentance.The Journey Presses On brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and church leaders to examine what this apology did and did not accomplish.Rather than offering a single judgment, this collection of seven essays traces the apology’s reception across diverse communities and traditions, revealing both moments of genuine encounter and the persistence of colonial structures within church and society.Positioned at the intersection of political theology, decolonial studies, and public ethics, the book situates Francis’s act within longer histories of ecclesial apologies