Mr. Speaker, in the past couple of weeks we have seen a little confusion coming from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who have tried to explain the lack of an apology or no apology forthcoming from the Pope. The CCCB's explanation is that the residential schools fell under different orders of the Catholic Church, but I think to Catholics and people who are non-Catholic, when they look at the institution of the Catholic Church, everyone universally agrees that the recognized spiritual head of the Catholic Church is the Pope.
Would my colleague agree with me in saying that the explanations of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops are a little misplaced? We are looking for a way to go forward. We are not trying to assign blame, but part of moving forward as a country means accepting the responsibility of one's organization in the administration of this school system in Canada.
The Pope, with what he has done around the world acknowledging and apologizing for previous abuses, could very well find it within his heart to come forward in this. I would just like to hear my hon. colleague's comments on that, and just why this particular apology from the Pope, as the recognized spiritual head of the Catholic Church, is so important for us to move forward as a nation on this very issue.