♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, pope francis, an historic apology to indigenous people in canada. >> i wanted to hear the pope say that he is sorry. >> a dark chapter in the catholic church's history. >> it was all about simulation, christianization. and basically redesigning human beings. >> now the pope trying to build a bridge. >> pope francis has taken the lead, the church needs to follow. >> but is it enough? plus the socialite scammer's spectacular second act? convicted conwoman and artist anna delvey speaking out while under immigration custody. >> it's an opportunity for me to tell my own story. >> but is she really cooking up

creative works? or just another scheme? and rowing into history. the record-breaking all-women's team that overcame the odds.

♪ thanks for joining us. it's not every day that the pope

calls the actions of some christians evil. but in a rare overseas trip to canada, pope francis taking that extraordinary step. apologizing for the church's role in the forced assimilation of more than 100,000 indigenous children. for many, the pain is still raw, the healing process just beginning. abc's marcus moore from canada tonight. >> reporter: it is a pilgrimage of penance. ♪ on a rare oversea is trip, an aging pontiff hoping to right a historic wrong. thousands of indigenous people in canada gathered on these sacred grounds. >> the words you share with us will echo the true healing and real hope throughout many generations to come. >> reporter: many emotional, waiting for an apology more than 100 years in the making.

[ speaking latin ] >> reporter: pope francis pleading for forgiveness on the very soil where decades of harm unfolded in canada's residential school system. most of those schools were operated by the catholic church. ♪ >> reporter: but his words for many, just the beginning of their healing journey. >> we lost a lot of kids over that. we can't bring them back, right? it really hurts. >> an apology today won't erase anything. the experience already happened. >> the language that we were speaking was not allowed. and what belief that we had in spirituality was superstition,

was the work of the devils. >> reporter: officials say attend the schools.re forced to- the aim, to simulate indigenous children into white culture, stripping them from their heritage and languages, separating them from their families. some suffered abuse, others even died at the schools. >> it was all about simulation, christianization, and basically redesigning human beings. >> reporter: dr. marie wilson helped chair canada's truth and reconciliation commission when investigated the history of the schools. a report labeling the schools a form of cultural genocide. the commission called for the pope to come to canada and apologize. >> it's a kind of long overdue fulfillment of something survivors have been asking for. >> reporter: this trip just the

latest example of pope francis trying to focus the catholic church on issues important to him. from washing the feet of muslim refugees, to focusing the world's attention on climate change. >> climate change is a problem we can no long er be left to a future generation. >> reporter: to be more welcoming of gay people. [ speaking latin ] >> reporter: each move targeted in its purpose. and it's been no different here in canada. the pope's first stop was in alberta where most of canada's residential schools were located. the pope clasping his hands in prayer at an indigenous cemetery in the community of maskcewisz. >> i wanted to be part of history.

i wanted to witness this myself and hear the hope say he is sorry. >> reporter: she went to a residential school at just 9 years old with her two sisters. >> it was really a very lonely, lonely existence. you know, you're away from your family, you're away from everybody that loves you. you are placed in a quasi-military environment. i've never been in jail, but i'm sure if i were in jail, it would have been very much like being in residential school. >> there were children who were punished physically or even emotionally for speaking their own language. did you witness that during your time there as a 9-year-old? >> i witnessed personall aally e threat of violence was always hanging in the air. people were walking on eggshells because you never knew when something was going to erupt. >> reporter: for many, the trauma from those schools passed from generation to generation. >> a survivor said, the only thing i ihe to

hate myself. >> reporter: chief tony alexis leads the nakota sioux nation. >> people are celebrating the fact that pope francis is here. for them it's a connection with the leader of the church. then there's some who are still feeling the pain ask agi and ag what has happened in residential schools with the church, so for them there's hesitation, there's a fear. concrete steps taken by the - church. >> we want to see some action behind this trip. and not just lip service. it cannot be that way. it cannot be just a photo op. it has to be real work. >> reporter: for many, the wound system reopened last year when more than 1,000 graves of indigenous children were discovered on the grounds of several schools. >> it was a ripple effect. it spread throughout the entire country. the people who went to residential school, they started talking about stories of how

they recall helping bury children. >> reporter: prompting outrage across canada and the world. >> the nonindigenous community, they are now listening. maybe it's only because of that that this apology's happening. >> reporter: the fury here in the united states too, where the legacy of indian boarding schools still lingers. "nightline" covered that history earlier this year. >> i called the boarding school era one of america's best-kept secrets. boarding school and its legacy impacted every native family. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of children taken from their homes and put in boarding schools from the 1860s through the 1960s. the schools in the u.s. were run by both the federal government and multiple christian denominations. >> it was a national policy to take indian children, to beat their native language out of them, to remove them from their families so they wouldn't have that cultural teaching.

it's that bad. >> reporter: the united states indian industrial school in carlisle, pennsylvania, helped serve as a model for canada's residential schools. carlisle was founded by civil war veteran richard pratt. >> he believed in "the only good indian is a dead indian." he'd rather purport, "i'd rather kill the indian in him and see the man." they saw them as not even human, they saw them as savages. >> reporter: the department of interior lost an initiative to examine the boarding school era, but no truth in reconciliation commission has been formed by the government. the pope did not apologize for the church's role in indian boarding schools in the u.s. his visit to canada comes after meetings with inlidge just leaders at the vatican. the trip even more momentous given the pope's health. the 85-year-old has suffered from sciatica and knee problems

that has made walking and standing more difficult, forcing cancelation of masses and trips. today his perseverance on display. despite the historic visit, many believe more needs to be done. >> the pope apologized. was it enough? >> i was really happy with what he said, that it seemed that it was very sincere and fulsome apology. if there's only one part that i wish he would have gone further on and would have mentioned sexual abuse of the children in residential school. something that was not mentioned. >> reporter: survivors demanding more details about the investigation the pope has called for, asking the church to open its archive. still, the pope taking another step in the road to forgiveness, st. anne, known for its healing waters. >> healing is not only us, the

indigenous community that has to heal. it has to be the church as well. healing has to come on both sides. >> our thanks to marcus. next, convicted conwoman anna delvey dives into her latest project. is it art? or is it just a new iteration of her old scheming ways? when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred.

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♪ she came, she conned, and she got convicted. infamous socialite grifter anna delvey is still in i.c.e. custody, fighting deportation. it might surprise you that she's making art and selling it.

here's another look at ashan singh's report on her latest round of attention-grabbing headlines. >> what do you make of the picture that's been painted of you nationally while you've been locked up? >> um -- well, a lot of it is not fair, and i feel like people just fill in the blanks. and it's an opportunity for me to tell my own story. >> reporter: anna delvey. the notorious con artist. convicted of defrauding new york's elite restaurants, hotels, and bangs. speaking to us from inside i.c.e. custody about launching her second act. >> i'm just kind of trying to make the best out of my time here. i have so much going on. i just, like -- i'm working on my podcast, my nfts, my art show, my merch lines. >> reporter: her latest project coming to fruition here at the public hotel in new york city's

lowe lower east side in the form of a chic gallery opening where anna's art is for sale, displayed by runway models with a cat burglar vibe. what do you say to people who say, this is just anna delvey's latest grift? >> i don't know, i really don't care for people who are, like, doubting me. i don't know, they should just wait and see for themselves. >> if there's anything that has stayed the same about anna is that she's a total chameleon. she did well on the upper east side, she did well in prison. she's now doing well in the art world. >> you know, i think it's real art. i would own an anna delvey original. like, you know. i mean, i probably can't afford it, but if i could, you know, i'd definitely have it hanging in my living room. >> i definitely think she's not going away any time soon. i think we'd be surprised. >> reporter: anna delvey, legal name anna so sorokin, passing

herself off as a wealthy german heiress, running in new york city's elite social circles, defrauding hotel, banks, restaurants, and private jet companies out of over $200,000 to support her lavish lifestyle. she was arrested in 2017. in 2019, a jury found her guilty of eight counts, including grand larceny and attempted grand larceny and theft of services. >> the judge sentenced her to four to 12 years behind bars. she ended up serving about four years. and so in february of 2021, shortly after her 30th birthday, she was released. and she was out on the town, back on the streets of new york city, for about six weeks. >> reporter: but anna's freedom was short-lived. in march 2021, she was picked up by immigration authorities for overstaying her visa. she's been in i.c.e. custody ever sense, fighting deporttation while appealing her conviction.

>> she could go out at any time so long as she goes back to europe. but anna has no intention of leaving new york. this is where anna delvey was not created but truly born. she really bought into the new york dream of, you know, if you put in the hustle, you maybe will make it. >> in the event that you do ultimately get deported, do you have a plan? do you have a backup to what life would look like outside the u.s.? >> of course, i always have a plan, obviously. we'll just have to wait and see. >> you know, she's in prison, but she's also operating like a mini empire from behind bars. >> reporter: even while detained, anna has been trying to stay the talk of the town by making art. chris martin is a curator representing anna. how was she actually able to work on her art right now, given that she's incarcerated? >> we basically had to send different supplies and kind of see what stuff got in, what didn't. really, the only things that got in were a few pencils, no

erasers, no pencil sharpeners, and 9 x 12 watercolor paper. she can't make mistakes because she doesn't have an eraser. >> reporter: anna's first solo art show with the tongue in cheek title "allegedly" is live. 20 pieces all sketched and colored while in i.c.e. custody. >> we sold a couple thousand dollars of prints in the first three minutes. >> reporter: some o her pieces sold for $10,000. anna's team says part of the proceeds are going to charities, including the aclu, as well as anna's own legal fees. what do you say to people who say, why should i give money to someone who is already a professional grifter, who has already been convicted? >> i don't really see myself that way. and my case is on direct appeal. so -- i don't know. i don't feel like i have to convince anybody. like, if they think i'm so bad, they should go and do better themselves, so. >> reporter: one of the buyers of anna's art, patrick peters,

the proud owner of "anna on ice." >> we can all kind of see ourselves in her, right? if you look at "coming to new york city," you always have this fake it till you make it attitude. anna obviously took that a little bit too far. but i think a lot of people in new york city will look at that and say, wow, you know, i came close to that as well. you know, i wanted to get in those rooms, i wanted to do those things. it makes you look at yourself and say, how far would i go? >> reporter: at the end of the show, anna appearing by video link to save her supporters as the first big event of what she calls her reinvention came to a close. >> she was able to do what she did because she's a smooth operator, you know? >> reporter: you might believe her. or you might think her motives are still suspect. but to many, regardless of what they think, anna's hustle is simply undeniable. >> i don't think anna would have a problem with people saying this is her new hustle, right? it is. she's trying to get money out of

us. she is. shears almost this cult that follows anna. and they love her or they love to hate her. but either way, they're loving something about her, right? either way, they're coming back. >> hopefully people won't judge me for the rest of my life for something that i had allegedly done when i was 23, 24, 25 years old. and everybody deserves a second chance. >> our thanks to ashan. up next, four women and a boat. their amazing record-breaking journey that they hope will inspire others. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the itching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. tremfya® is the first medication of its kind also approved for adults with

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♪

finally, the great pacific race. the saying goes, records are made to be broken. this one, we're not so sure. here's abc's will reeve. >> reporter: four women rowing their boat into the record books. libby costello, sofia dennison johnson, and two others make up the lap five rowing team. they row more than 2,400 nautical miles from san francisco to hawaii in 34 days, 14 hours, 11 minutes. their land fall, historic. they are the fastest all-female team to complete the journey. >> i feel totally overwhelmed in the best way by love. and i'm also exhausted. >> reporter: they rowed in two-hour shifts averaging 90 minutes of sleep at a time, eating boiled to order,

prepackaged meals. enduring seasickness, extreme wind, and rough seas. their legions of fans following online put wind in the team's proverbial sails. ♪ heads-up play my song ♪ >> i think something that i want people to take away is these women are so incredible. but we're not superhuman, there's nothing that we were born with that made us any different than anybody else. >> our thanks to will. that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks