Pope Francis says abuse at Canada's Indigenous residential schools was cultural 'genocide'

Pope Francis on Saturday said the treatment of Indigenous people in Canada amounted to a genocide, after a six-day trip where he apologized to survivors of abuse at Catholic-run schools.

“I didn’t say the word (in Canada) because it didn’t come to my mind, but I did describe the genocide. And I asked for forgiveness for this process which was genocide,” he told reporters onboard his plane returning to Rome.  

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced…