NDP MP Charlie Angus was “deeply distressed” when he heard Wednesday that Pope Francis will not apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canadian residential schools.

Now Angus wants the church to pay what he says is owed to residential school survivors.

“The Catholic church had legal obligations to pay into the (residential school) compensation fund for the crimes that were committed by its orders, under its watch, and under its direction — and they walked away on that agreement and they did not pay their share,” said Angus.

“I believe they still need to pay that money for the crimes that were committed.”

He accused the government of allowing the Catholic Church to “walk away on its payments” in 2015.

At the time, Andrew Saranchuk, assistant deputy minister from the Indigenous Affairs department, told a concerned B.C. resident that a July 16, 2016 court settlement “released the Catholic entities from all three of their financial obligations under the settlement agreement, including the ‘best efforts’ fundraising campaign, in exchange for a repayment of $1.2-million in administrative fees,” reported The Globe and Mail.

Angus, who comes from a Catholic background, said many Catholics in Canada are distressed with the fact that the church hasn’t paid up.

“I know many Catholics who contacted me who said that they would not pay any more money into the collection plates until justice is done,” he said. “This is the fundamental obligation of church — to beg forgiveness, to say they are sorry.”

When asked if a formal apology could make the Catholic Church liable to compensate residential school survivors, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said she has “no idea” whether that would be the case. She pointed out that there were multiple churches involved in the residential school system — although the Catholic Church ran roughly two-thirds of the 130 residential schools.

The Pope’s decision not to apologize upset Bennett, who said the government will maintain pressure on the church.

“I think that what we’re hearing from survivors and Catholics is that they want to continue to pressure and hope that (the church) will change their mind,” she said.

She did not clarify what concrete actions the government will take to continue the push for an apology.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer also weighed in on the issue.

Scheer, a Catholic, said “any group or institution that had a significant role in the residential school system should help move past and help get through this period of reconciliation by apologizing for the role they may have played.”

He did not specifically mention the Catholic Church’s involvement, although he did acknowledge that the “Catholic faith” had a hand in the residential school system.

The papal apology was listed as one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 ‘calls to action,’ which the government has pledged to implement.

As residential school survivors await this call to action’s implementation, Easter is just around the corner. That fact wasn’t lost on Angus.

“We are now in Easter season (and) it seems to be a really cruel irony that the Pope says he doesn’t need to say sorry,” Angus said.