Catholic churches apologize to Menominees

Catholic Church issues apology to Menominees for sins committed during Boarding School Era

By Ellen Hickok-WallMenominee Indian tribal members gathered Monday evening for a long-awaited confession of wrong-doing by the very church that continues to serve tribal members today.

Priests from St. Anthony Church in Neopit and St. Michael Church in Keshena apologized for pain and suffering tribal members endured during the Boarding School Era from 1856 to 1954.

“We stand here formally to present an apology to the Menominee for our past sin, which caused suffering and hurt through so many generations,” the Rev. Dave Kiefer of St. Anthony Church said to an auditorium filled with tribal members during the ceremony titled “Begin the Healing Journey.”

Kiefer and the Rev. Bob Rank of St. Michael Church took turns reciting a dozen pleas to their creator to heal the Menominee people from events that have caused injury to the tribe.Comment:  I think it would be more correct to say two Catholic churches, not the Catholic Church, apologized. The Church is too busy covering up its child-abuse scandal to take a position on its past boarding-school scandals.

For more on the subject, see Fort Wayne Church Seeks Reconciliation and South Dakota's "Year of Unity."