Vilifying Church’s role

The rambling, disjointed article titled “The Indian boarding school legacy” (April 28) is a sad attempt to somehow vilify the Catholic Church for the sins of the federal government. As the article eventually admits, it was the federal government that ordered children be taken from families. Thank goodness for the Catholic Church that with their limited resources did everything they could for these children. Why not an article praising the Church for trying to help children taken from their families by the government? Some reporters seem to be obsessed with gaining street cred with their peers by attacking the institution of the Church. The leftists controlling the narrative seem to always want to virtue signal by making sure they throw some blame towards the Church.

Jim Koepke
Nativity of Mary, Bloomington

Brokenhearted

Brokenhearted, thanks to Maria Wiering and The Catholic Spirit for “The Indian boarding school legacy” (April 28). The oppressive racialized decisions of white government officials, supported by Church leaders across the United States and Canada, is a story which must be known in its full extent. The article makes clear that much of the history of Indian boarding schools is unknown and is tucked into the records of churches, religious organizations, and religious orders to be forgotten. But the sundering of family ties of countless families and concerted efforts over more than a century to erase the culture and languages of American Indian peoples must not be forgotten. A national commission of investigation and reparations to American Indians must be established by an act of the Congress of the United States, similar to what has been proposed by Rep. John Conyers for the harm of the injustices done to Black Americans. This American Indian history must be known and acknowledged. And some way to repair and restore the incalculable harm must be devised in our time when it has become known. This is a matter of restoring our own humanity and Christianity after knowing the history. For this history as much as for the history of Black slavery, discrimination and crushing of human dignity, our integrity demands that we repent and set about restoration.

Richard Podvin
St. Odilia, Roseville

History needs to be known

Thanks very much for the great journalist work you did for the articles in the April 28 edition about the history of Indian boarding schools! I appreciate all the research you did with Allison Spies, archives program manager for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as with other involved and knowledgeable people. Church history, like national and state history, has plenty of dark sides that need to be known and addressed. Thanks for leading The Catholic Spirit to be an excellent, award-winning publication! And thanks to all who contribute to that excellence!

Allan Kean
St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul Park

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