AUSTRALIA’S bishops and Church peak bodies have welcomed a papal apology to Aborigines and other indigenous people in Oceania for past wrongs by the Church.
The apology is contained in the Pope’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation ‘Ecclesia in Oceania’.
The document is his formal response to the 1998 Synod of Bishops of Oceania and was delivered by him in Rome on November 22.
For the first time, Pope John Paul delivered a regional synodal response in Rome, because he was unable to cope with the long trip to Oceania.
In another first, he also sent a copy of the document to each of the bishops of Oceania on the Internet.
President of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Francis Carroll of Canberra and Goulburn, said the bishops were delighted that Pope John Paul had taken up the cause of the indigenous people of Oceania.
‘We’re really pleased to receive this apology from the Pope,’ said National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) chairwoman Vicki Walker of Melbourne.
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) acting chairman, Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba, described the apology as ‘great news’.
The Pope also apologised to victims of sexual abuse in the Church.
Bishop Michael Putney of Townsville, who edited the final document, said it was ‘very faithful to the work and outcomes of the synod’.
For the full text of the document go to www.vatican.va
