Bishops raise concern about subpoena power for Native American boarding school investigation
July 29, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: In a letter to members of Congress, three bishops who chair committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop expressed concern about legislation, which, if approved and signed into law, would establish a commission that lacks Catholic representation and would have broad subpoena power.
“We wish to state unequivocally that the tragic history of the Indian boarding school period should be brought to light in order to pave the way for healing of impacted Indigenous communities,” the chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, and Subcommittee of Native American Affairs wrote in a joint letter. The US bishops have “acknowledged that the Church played a part in trauma experienced by Native children” and “are committed to concrete actions to restore trust and cultivate healing and the reconciliation that the Church desires.”
“The policies and funding of the boarding schools” were “in large part issued from the government, with approximately half of the schools being run entirely by the government, and the other half run in partnership with Catholic and Protestant entities,” the three bishops continued. “The broad subpoena power currently in the legislation is somewhat curious since we are not aware of prior requests being denied. If there are such denials, please bring them to our attention.”
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