After months of controversy, Canada's Catholic Church has finally owed up to the country's indigenous people for a century of abuse of local children at church-run residential schools.

The churches had set up boarding schools to assimilate and convert children from local tribes to Christianity. The Canadian government was found to be funding these schools which saw large-scale child abuse resulting in deaths.

Canada's indigenous people have been clamouring for the apology from none other than the pope himself. However the Vatican has refrained from making comments.

The statement by the Catholic Church says: "We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our profound remorse and apologize unequivocally". The statement added that the Church was "fully committed" to reconciliation.

The bishops said they "acknowledge the suffering experienced" by indigenous students and the "grave abuses" inflicted upon them, including "physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and sexual" mistreatment at the hands of headmasters and teachers.

The statement added: "Many Catholic religious communities and dioceses participated in this system, which led to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality, failing to respect the rich history, traditions and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples".

There have been a series of discoveries during the past few months which have rocked the world–child graves were unearthed at a number of Christian residential schools. Some of the graves had the remains of children as young as three.

France 24 news channel says "in total, some 150,000 Indian, Metis and Inuit children were enrolled from the late 1800s to the 1990s in 139 of the residential schools across Canada, spending months or years isolated from the families".

Some of these schools were in operation till the seventies.

The outrage over the discoveries of unmarked graves even led to arson against some Catholic churches which had been built on indigenous land. The indigenous communities–who remained marginalised to this day–carried out protests across Canada.

The initial reaction came from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who acknowledged that Canadians were "horrified and ashamed of how our country behaved." Trudeau even appealed to Pope Francis to "make an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil."

For many indigenous people, the discovery was an emotional journey as they recalled their missing brethren. Now they plan to visit Rome to meet with the pope.

Now indigenous Americans force the US to dig up its brutal past – literally