Finland: the Church will "soon" have to apologize to the Sami

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland will

have to apologize to the country's indigenous Sami people for past injustices, a Finnish bishop said on Monday.

for

said the Bishop of Oulu, Jukka Keskitalo, in an address to Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Read alsoIn Sweden, the repentance of the Church against the Sami

Europe's only indigenous people, the Sami, whose population is estimated at 100,000, inhabit the vast expanses of the Arctic, northern Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the Russian peninsula. of Cola. They live from traditional reindeer herding. For most of the 20th century, they were considered uncivilized and inferior by their governments. In Finland, a program of

research on this minority continued until the 1970s, while assimilation policies in effect until at least the 1960s forced children to attend language schools Finnish where they were beaten or punished if they spoke their own language.

Many Sami in Finland are preparing to testify to the injustices they have suffered before a "truth and reconciliation" commission, the first meeting of which was held in December in the Arctic town of Inari. His report is due to be published in 2023. In neighboring Sweden, Archbishop Antje Jackelen already apologized last November for the Church of Sweden's role in centuries of

in against the Sami people.

She also announced a reconciliation plan of 3.9 million euros over 10 years.

The Bishop of Oulu, Jukka Keskitalo, has suggested that the Church of Finland's apology could be presented once the "truth and reconciliation" commission has completed its work.

," he said.