Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous people in Canada

Plus: Paul Sorvino and a history of Christian nationalists |

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By Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Pope Francis met with Indigenous groups in Canada this week and apologized for the church’s role in running Indigenous residential schools in the 19th and 20th centuries. These institutions were designed to assimilate students and erase native cultures, and attendees endured well-documented physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. They and their descendents are still grappling with that abuse to this day. In light of the Pontiff’s visit, we published three stories on different aspects of the history of these institutions, with background on how the apology tour fits with the Canadian government’s efforts to reconcile with Indigenous communities. Editorial fellow Anisha Kohli talked to representatives of one of the First Nation delegations that met with the Pope. TIME reporter Sanya Mansoor detailed the changes that Indigenous communities want to see after the apology. And I interviewed a survivor of a Catholic Canadian Indigenous boarding school, Brian Normand, who called the Pope’s apology “an important first step.” Here’s more history to know:

HISTORY ON TIME.COM Paul Sorvino Was a Softie Who Played Mobsters By Andrew R. Chow The character actor best known for playing Paulie Cicero in "Goodfellas" died on July 25 Read More » Faith Is Powerful. That’s Why Christian Nationalism Is So Dangerous By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Its prevalence as an ideology makes it the greatest threat to democracy in America today Read More » 25 Moments That Changed America By TIME Staff TIME asked 25 historians to each pick one moment that changed the course of American history Read More » Bob Moses Remembers the Fighting Spirit of John Lewis By Bob Moses "He was the person who was going to jail. Whatever actions happened, he was right there" Read More » How the Race Riots of 1919's 'Red Summer' Helped Shape a Century of American History By Olivia B. Waxman "The story of Red Summer is a story of a nation fraught from the clash between hope and threat," said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at a ceremony to mark the centennial Read More »

FROM THE TIME VAULT This week in 1954: Willie Mays “Willie Mays is only 23, and he is playing only his third season (and first full one) in the major leagues. There are other major leaguers, even centerfielders, who stand above him in the statistics (e.g., Brooklyn's Duke Snider, who is fielding as flawlessly as Mays and is batting .359 to Willie's .331). But with his showman's manner and his in-the-clutch timing, Willie Mays is baseball's sensation of the season. To the scandal of some sentimentalists, he is already being talked of as the equal or even the better of the great Tris Speaker and Joe DiMaggio. He has hit 33 home runs in 89 games—a pace which puts him six games ahead of Babe Ruth's majestic record of 60 homers, and there are some impetuous enough to suggest that Willie is the one to climb that Everest of baseball some day.” (July 26, 1954) Read More » This week in 1966: Lauren Bacall “What has Bacall learned to value in her lifetime? ‘Character and a sense of humor are the two things that will carry you through.’ Her own wryly self-deflating humor (‘It takes the sting out of things that hurt’) neatly defines the dividing line between generations. The young laugh at the way things seem; the middle-aged laugh at the way things are. What are her pleasures apart from husband, children, work and friends? ‘I’m an insane furniture and bibelot buyer. I love the ocean—it’s one of the last free places on earth.’ Betty Bacall has also learned the ultimate wisdom of the middle years, to live in the here and now: ‘There are things in life that are pretty rotten. The part that’s good you’ve got to enjoy while you have it.’” (July 29, 1966) Read More » This week in 1999: John F. Kennedy, Jr. (1960-1999) Peggy Noonan: “J.F.K. Jr.'s life spanned 39 years—only seven fewer than his father's—and encompassed no such dramas as war and wrenching political struggle. His dramas were personal, not historic, but then so much more was expected of him. Wouldn't he live a giant life too? What kind of man will King Arthur's son be? He knew about the expectations, and one supposes they were the central trauma of his life. He seemed to hobble through the search for a while--actor, lawyer, person in politics. And then: editor. Of a magazine on politics. But one that treated politics as entertainment. As if he were detaching himself from the heaviness of political struggles, and the tragedies they can bring.” (July 26, 1999) Read More »

HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WEB Scoops: Allen G. Breed of the Associated Press interviews the AP reporter Jean Heller who, 50 years ago, broke the story about the U.S. government study that denied syphilis treatment to infected Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama. Black history: For The Grio, Michael Harriot profiles the ‘Black Brain Trust,’ a group of Black intellectuals—both men and women—who influenced policy-making in the 1930s and 1940s. Education: The 74’s Asher Lehrer-Small goes to Newport, R.I., to see how students are learning about its history as the city that “launched more slave trading voyages than anywhere else in North America.” Investigations: On Slate.com, historians of disability Aparna Nair and Kylie M. Smith chronicle how private files of asylum inmates ended up on eBay and their efforts to get the website to take them down. Food for thought: The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney spotlights a traveling exhibit on the history of the Jewish deli.

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