“You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses.” Challenges and opportunities for the churches in South Africa and Canada

Abstract

In South Africa the Truth and Reconciliation process has come to an end. In Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has just begun to investigate the Indian Residential School system, a programme run over the course of 150 years by the Canadian government, with the co-operation of a number of churches which caused great harm and suffering to the Aboriginal communities. The article analyses the ways in which the South African churches and their Canadian counterparts can assist one another on the way to truth-finding, justice, forgiveness and healing.