Harper's 10 minutes with the pope

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome yesterday where both the environment and the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools were discussed.

Despite no mention of environment-related talks in an official statement from the PM’s office, Pope Francis will release an Encyclical on June 18 that is expected to demand major action on climate change, ahead of the Climate Summit of the Americas conference in Toronto next month and the Pontiff’s address the UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development in September, followed by another climate change summit in Paris this December.

“That will be very interesting for Roman Catholics in Stephen Harper’s Cabinet to respond to a Papal encyclical that demands all countries on Earth to do what’s required on greenhouse gases,” said Elizabeth May, leader of the federal Green Party.

She welcomed the upcoming Encyclical, saying that it gave “momentum,” to the issue of climate change ahead of the Paris conference.

May also had kind words for the Pope himself, describing him as tolerant and able to criticize his own church, including its role in Canada’s residential schools.

Harper and the Pontiff discussed the letter sent by Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, to the Holy See regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Valcourt's letter urged Pope Francis to visit Canada and issue a formal apology for "the church's role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools."

“I support the call for the Pope to come and apologize,” said May. “This is a very different kind of Pope.”

Also discussed by Harper and the Pontiff were issues of religious freedom around the world, including Christians facing persecution and slaughter by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, as well as other Christians in Africa and Ukraine.

Harper invited Pope Francis to visit Canada for its 150^th birthday celebrations in 2017.

“It was an honour to meet His Holiness Pope Francis and discuss a broad range of pressing global issues, including the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East and ongoing violence in Ukraine," Harper's official statement said.