By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) – On Monday, survivors of Canada’s residential schools asked Pope Francis to grant them unrestricted access to records from the Church on institutions in which indigenous children were abused or their culture denied.

Francis met for about an hour each with representatives of the Métis and Inuit nations, the first of four meetings this week with Canada’s native peoples in what both sides have called a called a process of healing and reconciliation.

“It was a very comfortable meeting,” Cassidy Caron, president of the Métis National Council, told reporters afterwards, adding that the pope listened attentively as three elderly survivors told their stories.

These schools were established between 1831-1896 with the sole purpose of assimilating indigenous children. These schools were managed by several Christian faiths, most notably the Catholic Church.

She said, “He reiterated truth, justice, and healing” (in English).

Caron shared that “I felt some sadness in his reactions ….”

Around 150,000 children were removed from their families. In what was called by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 2015 “cultural genocide”, many were subject to abuse, rape and malnutrition.

Caron mentioned that records were brought up. Canadian archives contain records, including those of religious orders and archives from the Vatican’s missionary division.

“The Métis nation needs to be sure to understand our full truth, and that will be unfettered access to Church records and we will be speaking more with the pope on this,” she said.

The Canadian government and Canada’s Indigenous Peoples want the pope visit Canada in an effort to apologise for Church involvement in schools.

Caron expressed disappointment that the pope failed to apologize on Monday, as the Canadian indigenous wanted him to.

She stated that she expected it to happen “soon”. According to Vatican sources, it is likely that this summer.

She said, “While it’s long past the time to acknowledge and apologize and make atonement, it’s never too late for us to do right things.” She stated, “Now it’s his (the Pope) turn to join our work in that effort.”

Vatican stated that the pope had the “desire of listening and making space for the pain stories of the survivors”.

With the discovery of remains from 215 students at Kamloops, British Columbia’s former Indian Residential School, another scandal about recurring schools broke out last year.

After the school closed in 1978, its discovery opened up old wounds. This led to new calls for accountability. Since then, hundreds of unmarked graves have been discovered.

Nearly two decades ago, Francis was made pope.

Recognizing the past is part of justice. Caron stated that acknowledging the past, even if it wasn’t his personally, was really important and meaningful.