Trudeau invites pope to Canada for Church apology to indigenous peoples

Pope Francis exchanges gifts with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau during a private audience at the Vatican, May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ettore Ferrari/pool

ROME (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday urged Pope Francis to visit Canada to apologise to indigenous peoples for the Catholic Church's treatment of aboriginal children in schools it ran there.

Starting in the late 19th century, about 30 percent of children of Canada's native peoples, or about 150,000 children, were placed in what were known as "residential schools" in a government attempt to strip them of their traditional cultures and ancestral languages.