Pope’s visit highlighted the church’s hypocrisy

The visit by Pope Francis to Canada (Global report, Canada, 29 July) left many of us disappointed. The Catholic church had abducted First Nations children who were incarcerated in residential schools where they were Christianised and their cultures stamped out. There was sexual abuse, cruel punishment, malnutrition and disease.

The church promised to pay $25m to survivors of residential schools but reneged, claiming it could raise only $4m. Meanwhile a basilica was renovated for $128m and a new cathedral built for $28m. In 2019 the net assets of the Catholic church in Canada were $4.1bn. At root is an institutional culture of clericalism, which Pope Francis has called an “ugly perversion”. Clericalism manifests as authoritarianism, secrecy, vanity and misogyny. I hope some clergy may understand history has finally caught up to them.

Reiner Jaakson

Oakville, Ontario, Canada