NATIONAL ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT
ISLANDER ECUMENICAL COMMISSION

Continuing the Journey...

The Catholic Church

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RESPONSE TO THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS

There are particular difficulties in trying to present a national Catholic Church response to the Reconciliation Process and the Bringing Them Home Report. Within the Catholic Church there are a number of peak bodies which work with particular sections of the church. The survey forms were sent to:

• The Bishops of the 27 dioceses,
• Directors of the Catholic Education Office in each diocese,
• National Commissions for Education, Welfare, Justice and Catholic Relief (CARITAS),
• Aboriginal Catholic Ministry organisations in each diocese and the National Catholic Aboriginal organisation, and to the
• Congregational Leaders of 200 Religious Orders.

Support for Reconciliation:

There has been support for the main reconciliation events in many dioceses and congregations. Parishes have been informed about the Reconciliation events and materials have been prepared and distributed for services, liturgies and celebration of significant events. The Aboriginal Catholic organisations play a significant role in providing input for homilies and reflections and resourcing the churches with materials on Aboriginal themes for the celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday on July 1.

There has been participation in special religious reconciliation events, such as the November Liturgical Service in Melbourne commemorating massacres in Victoria and Congregation retreats held at significant Aboriginal sites. Major school celebrations for Jubilee 2000 held at city stadiums were given significant assistance in design and presentation from the Aboriginal staff. In addition to church initiatives supporting reconciliation there has also been considerable support at the diocesan level for Aboriginal initiated commemorative events and the release of Statements in support of Reconciliation.

Some dioceses have given recognition and respect to local Indigenous people through acknowledging the Aboriginal owners of the land at gatherings, placing plaques in the church paying tribute to the Aboriginal owners, inviting Aboriginal speakers and by supporting the Indigenisation of the liturgy and Indigenous input to funeral services. Aboriginal Catholic Ministry staff lead services for Aboriginal celebrations such as baptisms and funerals and take part in welcome to country ceremonies.

Some parishes have supported the setting up of parish groups for Reconciliation and establishing Social Justice Groups to move forward and monitor diocesan involvement in the Reconciliation Process.

Some dioceses and religious orders have recognised the link between healing and reconciliation and have supported the training of Indigenous counsellors and the provision of healing workshops for Aboriginal people. An Aboriginal Healing Centre has been set up on a rural property with funding provided for Aboriginal staff to present workshops. Religious Orders have consulted with Aboriginal groups on their needs and have responded through providing assistance and sharing in the everyday lives of Aboriginal people.

Diocesan and congregational support for Aboriginal self determination is expressed through the support for Aboriginal Catholic Ministry and through assisting in skills acquisition for Aboriginal people.

Education for Reconciliation:

A national policy statement on Education and Reconciliation Agenda has been developed by the National Catholic Education Commission for all Catholic Education Offices and schools. The teaching of Aboriginal Studies is mandatory in all diocesan schools and supporting curriculum materials have been developed. A special website has been developed (http://www.yarrahealing.melb.catholic.edu.au) and a cultural centre opened in Brisbane to facilitate awareness and respect (Ngutana-Lui). An Aboriginal Advisory Committee is part of the Catholic school system and schools are monitored by the Education Office on their response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander work. Staff are provided with opportunities to participate in racism awareness workshops and professional development courses. A racism curriculum has been developed for use in schools.

In some centres Aboriginal schools are provided by the diocese. These schools have Aboriginal boards and staff where available. Fee relief is available for Aboriginal students. In some schools this means active assistance in the form of scholarships, in others fees are waived or relief provided if it is requested. Some dioceses offer training opportunities to teacher aides, teachers and guarantees of employment.

The involvement of Aboriginal families in the schools their children are attending has been an important contribution to reconciliation.

The awareness of people in the Catholic Church, both lay and religious, about matters relating to Reconciliation is fostered through the many opportunities facilitated by church agencies to hear the stories of Indigenous people. This occurs by visiting local groups, building up personal relationships with Indigenous people, visiting massacre sites, subscribing to Indigenous publications, hosting Reconciliation Awareness groups and circulating and publicising Australian Catholic Social Justice Council media releases. Aboriginal Catholic organisations play a key role through leading groups in parishes and schools, giving presentations and sharing their stories. The encouragement given by the Aboriginal Catholic Ministries and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council to use welcome protocols and smoking ceremonies and to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on significant occasions has made a meaningful contribution to raising the awareness of people within the church.

Advocacy for Reconciliation:

The Catholic Church has national commissions which speak out and lobby on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concerns. These include National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes. Representations are made to Parliament and Parliamentary Members, and public statements are released through the media.

Advocacy also takes place through ensuring a strong presence of official church leadership at events and meetings organised by Indigenous people and through supporting the work of groups such as Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR). The Religious Orders have supported Aboriginal land claims in court, attended demonstrations, circulated and signed petitions, written to newspapers and participated in support groups for Aboriginal Catholic organisations.

Responding to Disadvantage as Reconciliation:

Centacare (Catholic counselling service) networks with Aboriginal organisations and services to provide counselling and social support. Parish houses provide emergency assistance and organisations such as St Vincent de Paul provide assistance and emergency aid.

The Catholic Aboriginal Ministry provides counselling and assistance. In some places there is involvement in the care of aged Aboriginal people and provision of rest and respite care.

Some Religious Orders have provided social welfare services for Aboriginal people through such programs as holiday camps for Aboriginal youth. Personnel have been provided to work in welfare services in remote areas.

Financial assistance has been provided by some Religious Orders for Aboriginal projects, Aboriginal attendance at conferences, leadership development programs and for Aboriginal people seeking to write/record their stories and histories. Interest free loans have been provided.

The Religious Orders have been able to provide assistance in the area of training and employment such as through the training and mentoring of Aboriginal people in ancillary and managerial positions, employing Aboriginal assistants in schools and employing an Indigenous Education Officer to develop cultural awareness across the system.

Negotiation - Demonstrating Reconciliation:

Within the Catholic Church structures are being developed at various levels to facilitate consultation with Indigenous people. When events and actions are being planned there are attempts being made to consult with the local Indigenous people. With some schools, networks are being created between Indigenous and non Indigenous groups of students and teachers. Aboriginal Catholic Ministries and other Catholic Aboriginal groups are consulted on local issues and liaison occurs with the Aboriginal and Islander Catholic Councils at the state level and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council nationally. For congregational planning and major group meetings Aboriginal reference groups are formed. There are plans for the setting up of a diocesan council of Elders.

Vision for Reconciliation:

While not all Catholic communities have used the Roadmap for Reconciliation, many religious orders, parishes, schools and church groups have distributed and used the Roadmap.

Within the groups which have taken up the call for Reconciliation there is a general commitment to keeping reconciliation on their agenda. While there is recognition that church communities have a responsibility to reconciliation there has been very little formal planning and decision making on the future strategies and actions to advance reconciliation within the church community. Some of this hesitation seems to be related to concerns about imposing white concepts and desires on Indigenous people.

RESPONSE TO THE BRINGING THEM HOME REPORT

Acknowledgement and Apology [Recommendation 6]:

The Bishops Committee on Social Welfare issued an apology in a statement to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families. Later, as part of the National Sorry Day Commemorations the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released a formal apology to the media. The Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes offered a national apology on behalf of religious orders and followed up with a project to locate and make available all records of all institutions run by Catholic organisations.

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Commission and the Catholic Council for Justice Development and Peace have issued apologies and contributed to the process of educating people on the link between 'Apology' and the Reconciliation Process.

Catholic Education offices, individual schools and staff have taken the opportunity to sign Sorry Books and prepare Sorry Day liturgies and activities. The Catholic Schools Office has been working towards a Catholic Schools' Apology at diocesan level. In Brisbane all diocesan schools met for a Reconciliation through Education gathering in 1997, an initiative of the Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee. A 'Sorry Statement' was presented to a local elder. At least one Catholic school had their apology formalised as a plaque.

Local apologies have been offered by a number of parishes and Religious Orders. For a number of the Religious Orders this was a significant healing time for both the Religious and the Indigenous people involved. The making of a video, displaying plaques and becoming involved in a 'Pay the Rent' scheme are some of the outcomes of the Apology process.

The Sisters linked a procession of apologies, in each place in which they had worked, with a celebration of the founding of the Order. Each place chose the form of celebration and the Sisters went to each place and made a public apology. Indigenous people were involved in the preparation. There was an Aboriginal steering committee for the whole process, and each place had a small committee. The Apology ended with a promise to continue to walk with Aboriginal people as long as there were any Sisters left.
St John of God Sisters who ministered on missions in the Kimberleys.

Many of the Catholic offices and organisations issued their apologies publicly and publicised their statements in various media outlets including as a paid advertisement in a local newspaper. In some cases copies were forwarded to NATSIAC and the Aboriginal Catholic Ministries. The Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Orders sent a copy of their apology to national and regional Aboriginal organisations, to Koori Mail and to radio stations in Central and Northern Australia.

There have been many instances of ongoing support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a result of taking part in the apology process. Records, projects, scholarships for Indigenous teachers, submissions to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee on the Stolen Generation and supporting local reconciliation initiatives are some examples.

Awareness Raising [ Recommendations 8 & 9]:

Some local Catholic Education Offices are very active in ensuring that awareness of the history and effects of forcible removals is included in the school curriculum. The contribution of Indigenous bodies and individuals to awareness raising was acknowledged in the Catholic Church response. The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry has supplied Aboriginal speakers to many schools. Indigenous Education Teams and Indigenous people in key positions develop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout the curriculum. Social Justice Days and visits from Aboriginal speakers are valuable.

Many Catholic Church bodies have ensured that training on the history and effects of forcible removals, for people who work with Indigenous people, has been provided. Working with Indigenous people in partnership is seen as crucial to this process as is the sharing of stories.

There have been some quite concerted efforts to educate the wider public on
Forcible removals by some church bodies including developing a website, conducting activities through Ngutana Lui Cultural Centre in Brisbane and producing resources. Others acknowledge that this is an area for further attention.

Counselling Services [Recommendation 40]:

Some Centacare and St Vincent de Paul offices have worked to develop partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and there has been some professional development in Centacare concerning Indigenous families and forcible removal practices and implications.

The Seasons of Growth program is presently developing an Aboriginal Seasons of Growth program which will cater for the needs of adults who are victims of forcible removals.

The Christian Brothers are involved in supporting members of the Stolen Generations in accessing counselling and in developing culturally appropriate counselling and support services. The St John of God Sisters work with local Aboriginal groups to ensure that their counselling services are culturally appropriate. Some counselling is done in collaboration with Indigenous people.

Many Catholic Church bodies have supported Indigenous organisations delivering counselling and support services to those affected by forcible removals. In Darwin the Our Lady of Sacred Heart Sisters are supporting the Garden Point Indigenous community in setting up their own Indigenous counselling services. Financial assistance is also being provided to help employ an Indigenous worker. Members of the Christian Brothers are also involved in offering financial, practical and moral assistance for the Aboriginal Women's Healing House in Picton, NSW. Networks and partnerships between Catholic instrumentalities and Indigenous services and groups responding to the concerns of Stolen Generation people are well developed.

Making Records Accessible [Recommendations 25, 38 & 39]:

While not all Catholic agencies have completed the process of identifying, organising and informing relevant Indigenous Family Information Services about their records, a number of groups have given this area considerable attention.

The Broome Diocese, under the auspices of the Pallotine Fathers and Brothers, initiated an Aboriginal Records project involving Catholic institutions, which Aboriginal adults or children had attended, to assist in tracing the genealogy of families. Baptism records have been made available to the Stolen Generations.

The Our Lady of Sacred Heart Sisters in Darwin have collected, photocopied and securely stored all the Garden Point documents. An office has been set up in Darwin where members of the Stolen Generations can come and, in privacy and comfort, research their personal documents. There was an official blessing and opening of this office. A data base has been drawn up and a protocol written in line with that used by Northern Territory Archives. There has been consultation with members of the Stolen Generations and the Bishop of Broome, and the protocol has been signed by the president of the Garden Point Association.

The Sisters of St John of God in Broome have been working with local Aboriginal groups to establish a Link-Up service in Broome. Records have been identified and work is ongoing on indexing and storage. Discussions have been held with appropriate Indigenous organisations. Recommended access standards are in place.

The Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes initiated a project to locate and publish all records of institutions run by Catholic agencies together with a common protocol. The book A Piece of the Story was developed with Aboriginal advisers and in consultation with Stolen Generation representatives. It was published in 1999 and circulated to any known Aboriginal organisation involved in family counselling and assistance.

Land Holdings [Recommendation 41]:

The reviewing of land holdings and consulting with appropriate Indigenous bodies about returning land has occurred within some Dioceses and Religious Orders but not all.

Monetary Compensation [Recommendation 15]:

Some Religious Orders note that they are already giving financial support to projects for Indigenous people which benefit, directly or indirectly, members of the Stolen Generations. At the Diocesan level, there does not appear to be any significant support for involvement in a National Compensation Fund other than that the Catholic Church is participating in discussions through the National Council of Churches in Australia.