Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge has signalled that the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia meeting this week will offer Catholic Church backing for an indigenous voice in the nation’s constitution.
“One very particular outcome I am certainly hoping for is that the Plenary Council will offer a very clear public endorsement of the Uluru Statement From the Heart – I think that would be symbolic, and powerfully symbolic,” Archbishop Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said on the third day of the historic gathering.
“I think the need is enormous and I think this issue of an awakening to the reality of our indigenous peoples is not only at the heart of the nation in ways that are not always recognised, I think it is also close to the heart of this Plenary Council.”
Last week Archbishop Coleridge endorsed the Uluru Statement, on behalf of the Brisbane Archdiocese.
One of the key demands in the Statement is for a national referendum on whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should have a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Australian Constitution.
This would not mean a third chamber, but rather an advisory body to parliament that would give indigenous people a say on the policies and laws that impact their lives.
On the third day of the Plenary Council assembly, Indigenous Catholic Toni Janke said the historic gathering is already showing signs that the Church can “bridge the gap” with First Nations people.
Ms Janke is one of the 278 members on the Council meeting virtually this week and has been participating in a small group praying, discussing and reflecting on the question ‘How might the Church in Australia open in new ways to Indigenous ways of being Christian in spirituality, theology, liturgy, and missionary discipleship?’
“I think there was a real sense of hope. People spoke about working together, walking together, the need for the Church to really look at new ways of engaging with First Nations families and communities,” Ms Janke, who works across south-east Queensland providing support, through Centacare Family and Relationship Services, said.
“Probably the biggest thing that came out of the discussions was the need for the Church on a broader level to look at things like the Uluru Statement From the Heart.
“But also there were a number of discussions around the smaller things that could be done in different diocese and parishes.”
Some Catholic communities have already committed to Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPS), introducing protocols such as Acknowledgement and Welcome to Country, and encouraging indigenous people to share their culture and understanding of country.
“As a church we’d like people working together in meaningful ways that address and heal some of the past relationships, in the past, I guess, trauma that people have suffered over the years,” Ms Janke said.
“…we have a beautiful rich culture that is in excess of 60,000 years old and a lot to teach not just the Church but the community at large.”
Archbishop Coleridge said he was in favour of all diocese across Australia introducing reconciliation action plans.
“I might even put that forward to the Plenary Council before the weeks end,” he said.
ADDED on Wednesdayy, October 6:
A call for the Plenary Council to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart and for dioceses and parishes to establish reconciliation action plans has drawn strong support from the Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn reform group.
Two Concerned Catholic leaders, Emeritus Professor John Warhurst and Francis Sullivan, said the call made at the plenary assembly today presented a declaration of vital importance to equity and faith in Australia.
‘A statement for the Catholic Church in Australia to recognise the Uluru Statement of the Heart demonstrates that we in the church want to be in tune with the spirit of the country and its creator and with the aspiration of our First Nations Peoples,’ Professor Warhurst and Mr Sullivan said.
‘The raising of this issue is one among several that indicates that the Plenary Council while still at its discussion group stages is airing issues that give hope of a more open and inclusive church.”
