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Commission
Urges Church to Make Full
Text of the Statement (pdf) Aboriginal elder tells Catholics to challenge Indigenous injustices Australian Catholic Social Justice Council - Home
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MEDIA RELEASE Sunday
24 September 2006 Social
Justice Statement Launched in Brisbane
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 2006 Social Justice Statement, The
Heart of Our Country: Dignity and Justice for Our Indigenous Sisters and
Brothers, was launched at the Ngutana Lui Cultural Centre last
Thursday. The Statement was launched by local Inala elder, Uncle Kevin Bonner after
addresses by Brisbane Indigenous community activist, Sam Watson, and
Bishop Joseph Oudeman, Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane. In the Statement, Australia’s Catholic Bishops embrace the message of
Pope John Paul II when he addressed Indigenous Australians in Alice
Springs twenty years ago and they urged Catholics to listen to his message
and take action on it. Mr Watson told those who attended the launch about the many concerns local
Indigenous people have about their treatment at the hands of authorities. He expressed particular concern about relationships with members of the
Queensland Police and about Premier Beattie’s decision to no longer have
a separate Minister for Indigenous Policy in his Cabinet. He said that non-Indigenous people needed to look honestly at what had
happened to Indigenous people in the last two centuries. “White Australians must face up to the truth and reality of their
past,” Mr Watson said. Speaking to the Indigenous people gathered at the launch, Bishop Joseph
said that it was hard for non-Indigenous people to “walk in your
shoes” but that efforts must be made to understand how they felt. He repeated the late Pope John Paul II’s message when he met with him
some time before his death. He said that the Pope was very frail and difficult to hear, but that his
message was important for all Catholics. The Holy Father said that we must be ‘bearers of hope’ and that is
what we must do if we are to promote reconciliation in our land,” Bishop
Joseph said. Mr Bonner said that he was honoured to launch the Statement. “I think that the Bishop is right to encourage us to be hopeful as we
try to make things better,” Mr Bonner said. The launch took place on the International Day of Peace and the Justice
and Peace Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that it was
appropriate that the Statement’s launch took place on this day. “Pope John Paul often said that there is ‘no peace without justice’
and we cannot have peace and reconciliation in our land until there is
dignity and justice for our Indigenous sisters and brothers,” Mr Arndt
said. For
further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409
265 476. NB
This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its
Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in
its own right. The views
expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
THE 2006 SOCIAL
JUSTICE STATEMENT The Heart of Our Country The
Message Stick We
are first reminded of the Pass It On Message Stick Relay and its call to
the Church. We
are told that the Message Sticks carry an invitation to all of us to
celebrate the message of hope and reconciliation in our local communities.
They also carry with them the call to reflect on the message delivered by
Pope John Paul II and to evaluate the extent to which we have responded to
that message over the past 20 years. The
Pope’s Message Pope
John Paul II identified four very important issues when he spoke to the
Aboriginal people in Blatherskite Park at Alice Springs:
The statement asks us what has been done over the past twenty years to respond to the Pope’s challenges and what is still to be done. Maintaining
Indigenous Culture The Pope urged the Church to be encouraging and supportive of efforts by Indigenous people to maintain those elements of their culture, spirituality and history which they wished to retain and remember. It acknowledges some efforts to help Indigenous people to do this, including two-way learning programmes in the Kimberleys and efforts in other parts of Australia to teach Indigenous languages. The statement points out that non-Indigenous Australians can learn from Indigenous culture too. It particularly mentions what benefits might be gained through the capacity of Indigenous people for a deep, inner listening. Dialogue
of Cultures The statement also reminds us of the Pope’s desire that Indigenous culture and spirituality be respected, embraced and welcomed by the Church in the same way that it has tried to support and welcome migrant cultures. In this regard, it highlights the efforts of Nungalinya College to bring Christian and Indigenous spiritualities into dialogue and challenges us to find ways to be more inclusive of Indigenous culture and spirituality in our own faith communities. Caring
for the Land The Pope also recognized the intimate relationship which Indigenous people have with the land – a relationship which is far more than functional. Caring for the land is much more than ensuring that people’s welfare is protected. The relationship between Indigenous people and the land has an immense spiritual significance in that it says something about the relationship between human beings and God. The statement acknowledges that the recognition in law of land rights has been the most significant shift in the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia. While the process and the outcomes have been imperfect, the Bishops say the rights this shift has given to Indigenous people should never be taken away. The statement also recognizes that the intimacy of the relationship between human beings and the rest of Creation is something emphasized in the Christian tradition, but this understanding has been lost. The statement says that the spirituality of Indigenous people has much to offer in efforts to recover the importance of this understanding in our Christian tradition. Restitution
for Past Hurts The Pope also acknowledged that there were many wrongs experienced by Indigenous people in the past. Chief among these for him was the forced removal of children from their families and communities. The Pope said that these wrongs have had their lasting effect in terms of on-going social and economic disadvantage. While he recognizes that these wrongs cannot be undone, there must be concerted efforts on the part of the Church and our nation to address the consequences and remedy them. Reclaiming
the Message The Bishops affirm the Pope’s message; they reclaim it and pass it on to all the members of the Church to embrace and act on with urgency and commitment. NB This
release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive
under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own
right. Its views do not
necessarily represent those of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. |
