Even incomplete or insincere apologies have restorative value.
Gilda Soosay, president of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Parish Council in Maskwacis, Canada, where Pope Francis visited the site of a state school for Indigenous children.
Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images
A historian of the residential schools explains how religion played a key role in assimilationist systems for Indigenous children in Canada and the United States.
Pope Francis receives a traditional headdress after apologizing near the site of the former Ermineskin Residential School, in Maskwacis, Alta.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Our analysis revealed the relative attention our news and opinion pieces gave to First Nations peoples began to grow steadily from around 2005, with a huge peak in 2007.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wipes his eye while he is applauded while making a formal apology to people harmed by federal legislation, policies, and practices that led to the oppression of and discrimination against LGBTQ2 people in Canada on November, 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Expungement Act was a centrepiece of the federal government’s apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians. But figures indicate only nine people have successfully had their convictions cleared.
Cuomo deflected responsibility during his public apology.
Office of the NY Governor via AP
Cuomo used language that people forced to apologize often deploy to avoid taking responsibility and show genuine contrition. An expert on public apologies suggests three don'ts and a do.
Is ‘expressing regrets’ the equivalent of sticking air quotes around apologies?
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US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia may have expressed regrets over controversial comments and social media postings. But not to the public, and not in a way that would mitigate harm.
Jallianwala Bagh, in Amritsar, India, where hundreds were killed on April 13, 1919, under British colonial rule.
AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill
Organizations try to hide mistakes and evade responsibility, studies show. But two scholars analyzing militant and terrorist groups say they are willing to acknowledge their mistakes – sometimes.
What better gift this Christmas than a peace offering?
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Barney Williams Jr., a residential school survivor, hugs Santa Ono, president of the University of British Columbia, during the opening of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at Vancouver, on April 9.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ben Nelms
The role of universities in the shameful Indian residential school system needs to be addressed. The president of one of Canada’s leading universities explains why it’s time to apologize.
What does it mean when public figures say sorry?
AP Photo/Paul Sancya