Ontario priest receives backlash for comments praising the ‘good done’ in residential schools

The comments come in the wake of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation discovering the remains of 215 children in a mass unmarked grave at the site of Kamloops residential school in British Columbia.

"Two thirds of the country is blaming the church, which we love, for the tragedies that occurred there," said Priest Owen Keenan in a video of his sermon at the Merciful Redeemer Parish.

The video was originally posted to the church's YouTube page but has since been deleted. Clips of his Sunday sermon continue to circulate on the internet, CBC News reports.

"I presume the same number would thank the church for the good done in those schools, but of course, that question was never asked and we are not allowed to even say that good was done there. I await to see what comes to my inbox," Keenan continues.

Backlash against the parish and the priest spread on social media, with one Twitter user calling Keenan’s comments "disgusting, adding that "the Church is not the victim."

Another user posted a clip from a June 6 sermon, in which Keenan states ""Many people had very positive experiences at residential schools. Many people received health care and education and joyous experiences. They weren’t universally awful."

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said she was "extremely disappointed by her pastor’s comments. Crombie is a practicing Catholic, and frequently attends Keenan’s parish.

In a news conference Thursday, Crombie called Keenan's sermon "deeply insensitive to Indigenous Canadians, particularly at a time when Indigenous communities are in pain as they unearth more mass graves at the site so former residential schools."

"His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada," she continued. "The children were forcibly separated from their parents."

Crombie stated that while no apology from the church or government would undo the damage done, an a apology is the place to start.

"It's a basic and it's a fundamental foundation to our reconciliation," said Crombie.