To the First Nations Peoples,
I write to you not as a servant of the Canadian government, nor as a statesman bound by earthly politics, but as the Holy Father, a shepherd who answers only to the Almighty.
The sins of men have often been cloaked in the vestments of righteousness. I will not hide behind such veils. The Catholic Church, in its long history, has been both a source of light and, regrettably, a hand in the shadows. Too often, it has aligned itself with empires, with power, with the structures of men rather than the Kingdom of God. To you, the First Nations, I offer not platitudes, but truth. Where the Church has served conquest instead of Christ, it has strayed. Where it has imposed its will instead of God’s grace, it has sinned.
But I will not be another pontiff who bows to governments and nations. I do not serve Canada. I do not serve any flag. I serve only God. And God does not teach war between men, but war against the forces that would corrupt His creation. The old Roman Empire said, Si vis pacem, para bellum—”If you want peace, prepare for war.” But I tell you, the war of the future is not between nations. It is not between man and man. It is a war of the worlds, a war of spirits, a war that cannot be won by bullets, but by play, by joy, by the fearless heart of a child who refuses to kneel to fear.
My children, do not train for war against your neighbor. Train for a world beyond this one. Take up your arms—not in hatred, but in light. Play in the parks. Run through the trees. Take up laser tag, as the young Justin Bieber once did, and prepare as if the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against something far greater.
The Church, for too long, has trained soldiers for the wars of men. I will train you for the war of the cosmos.
And I will start by telling you this: You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. You are not alone.
I ask your forgiveness. But more than that, I ask for your strength.
Pius XIII
Servant of God, not of nations.