"We're all pained" - Canada indigenous leaders dismiss Pope remarks

A memorial on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School is seen after the remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were found at the site in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

TORONTO (Reuters) - Indigenous leaders and school survivors on Sunday dismissed Pope Francis' expressions of pain at the discovery of 215 children's remains at a former Catholic residential school in Canada, saying the church needed to do much more.

In his weekly blessing in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, Francis said he was pained by the news about the former school for indigenous students and called for respect for the rights and cultures of native peoples. But he stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded.