Haida elder and residential school survivor is suing the Catholic church. Photo: Tallulah Photography
APTN News: A Haida Elder and residential school survivor is suing an Edmonton priest for what she says are “false and deeply hurtful” comments.
Sphenia Jones from British Columbia alleges Fr. Marcin Mironiuk defamed survivors of Canada’s residential school system during a mass service in 2021.
Mironiuk reportedly described the evidence of unmarked graves at residential schools as “lies” and “manipulation,” according to Jones’ statement of claim filed on July 14, 2023.
Jones, who lives in Old Massett on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii in B.C., said she was severely affected by what Mironiuk allegedly said.
She said she became depressed and withdrawn and was discouraged from speaking up – similar to what happened to her at the Edmonton Residential School located in St. Alberta, just outside the city.
“Once I spoke to my friend in our language and they pulled my fingernails out,” the 81-year-old told APTN News. “I was told, ‘No one will believe you if you tell.’”
She was 11 when she was taken away to the residential school.
She said she has rejected an out-of-court settlement offered by the church and is seeking $12 million in damages.
“I want it to go around the world,” she said of survivors’ experiences. “I want everybody to talk about what happened to them. If I settle out of court, it would be just like me asking for the money and that’s it.
“I don’t want money.”
The statement of claim also includes the Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province – the missionary order that oversees Mironiuk.
According to the statement of claim obtained by APTN, the priest was speaking in Polish when he allegedly said, “We are in the presence of big lies here in Canada.”
He also claimed Indigenous children “were dying from natural causes and were buried in regular cemeteries, and that’s why we’re living now in a great lie,” the claim said.
His sermon was broadcast live on MBKP Edmonton – Our Lady Queen of Poland Parish’s YouTube channel.
The provincial superior apologized and called Mironiuk’s comments “thoroughly unacceptable” before placing the priest on indefinite leave.
The Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“I want first to apologize for this situation altogether and the hurt it has caused to so many people, especially the First Nations Peoples,” Alfred Grzempa, senior superior with the Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province, said in a statement.
He also ordered Mironiuk to spend “compulsory time with First Nations history experts to deepen his knowledge of the pain they continue to experience.”
The claim alleges Mironiuk knew the sermon was being broadcast and his statements would reach a broader audience.
“Justice demands that the claim be allowed to proceed,” said the claim, “to ensure that (alleged) residential school deniers such as Rev. Mironiuk be held fully accountable for the (alleged) additional and ongoing harms they inflict, and to vindicate the reality of residential schools that has long been carried on the shoulders of the survivors.”
Mironiuk later apologized in another statement released by the Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province.
“As a Catholic and a priest, I see the horrible hurt the residential school system has caused and I lament the loss of all lives as a result,” the statement said. “… If and when I get a chance to meet survivors, I will seek to learn from their stories and come to know their history better. At the same time, I ask for their forgiveness.”
But Jones said the apology came too late.
“No one I know can trust the apology when we heard the sentiment behind the comments he made,” she said.
One of Jones’ lawyers said the next step is to have the file certified in court, meaning it can go forward.
“It takes some time,” said lawyer, Aaron Christoff. “Sphenia will have her day in court. But we are early in the process and don’t have a date yet.”
If the lawsuit is certified and she wins, Jones plans to take a boat and train journey that re-traces the trip she was forced to make more than 60 years ago to residential school.
“It will help as part of my healing journey,” she said.
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