Episode 5: No Apology - Indian Residential Schools and Legacy of the Catholic Church with Reverend Michael Coren

(June 10, 2021) The news that the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation had located the undocumented remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School run by the Catholic Church broke late on Thursday, May 27. The news spread across the world like wildfire. And since then, the Roman Catholic Church has come under intense criticism for their continued refusal to apologize and account for their role in running close to three quarters of Canada’s residential schools.

The Reverend Michael Coren is a columnist, broadcaster, and an ordained cleric in the Anglican Church of Canada. His 18th book will be released this fall. He wrote about the grim findings in Kamloops for iPolitics on May 28. We talk to him today about how religious leaders in the Catholic church can square their current refusal to confess and atone for their actions with the tenets of the church and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Talking UP is an interview show dedicated to writers, journalists and authors working on issues of social justice, equity, and the nonprofit sector. Guests talk about their reporting and research, what drives their work, and what’s important to them. Listeners will have the opportunity to widen their lens, develop their understanding and figure out where we might go from here.