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Bishops hope ‘sorry’ will free ‘emotional logjam’
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| By DAMIR GOVORCIN
10 February, 2008 |
THE Australian Catholic Bishops Conference hopes the Federal Government’s national apology to the Stolen Generations will help “free up the emotional logjam” that now exists and create “new opportunities for the recovery of broken lives”.
“It could help to break the impasse that has restricted the effectiveness of State and Federal programs for indigenous advancement and at the same time help Aboriginal people, as individuals and groups, to approach their future with greater optimism and determination,” said Archbishop Barry Hickey, chairman of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander People.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will make a formal apology to members of the Stolen Generation on February 13.
Mr Rudd said the symbolism of the apology was “crucial and necessary”.
“It’s building a bridge of respect, which I think has been in some state of disrepair in recent decades,” he said.
Archbishop Hickey, who is Archbishop of Perth, said: “I think it will be a great relief to most Australians when the Federal Government finally makes an apology on February 13.
“The general population has been far ahead of its political leaders on this matter, just as the people were on the 1967 referendum which granted full
citizenship to Aboriginal people.
“I believe that the Federal Government should express sorrow that terrible things happened to Aboriginal people, and continue to happen in many communities.
“In the past, I have publicly expressed sorrow for many things that happened in the Church’s involvement with Aboriginal people, such as the absence of family ties, the loss of personal names and traditional culture, and the lack of involvement in the management of the missions.
“I also pointed out the many positive aspects of the Church’s missionary endeavours, such as good education, health care and the Catholic Faith.”
He added: “At the Synod of Oceania in 1998, all the Australian bishops, supported by the other bishops of Oceania, expressed their sorrow at the plight of the Aboriginal people.
“This was taken up by Pope John Paul II in his subsequent response and exhortation, Ecclesia in Oceania, published in 2001, in which he said the struggle of the Australian Aborigines to maintain their culture was a special case.
“The Pope said: ‘Whenever the truth has been suppressed by governments and their agencies or even by Christian communities, the wrongs done to the indigenous peoples need to be honestly acknowledged.
‘The past cannot be undone, but honest recognition of past injustices can lead to measures and attitudes to rectify the damaging effects for both the indigenous community and the wider society.
‘The Church expresses deep regret and asks forgiveness where her children have been or still are party to these wrongs.
‘Aware of the shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania, the Synod Fathers apologised unreservedly for the part played in these by members of the Church, especially where children were forcibly separated from their families’.”
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