Pope Francis will visit Canada to further reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians in relation to residential schools.

The news that many Canadians have been waiting to hear for a very long time arrived on the morning of Oct. 27 — Pope Francis is ready to come to Canada.

There has never been a papal visit to anywhere that has been anything like what will unfold when Pope Francis comes to Canada — a papal journey of sorrow, mourning and repentance holding forth a thin candle of hope up against the flood of our own Catholic sins.

Deacon Harry Lafond is well aware of the serious, sorrowful situation which has prompted Pope Francis to announce a visit to Canada. But he does not believe the papal visit should drown in tears.

Pope Francis has accepted an invitation by Canada’s bishops to visit Canada “on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.”

There may be good reasons for not inviting the Pope to Canada, but the risk of being sued isn’t one of them, said a litigation lawyer who has taken the Church to court.