NAIDOC Week and Sunday - 3 July

 Pope Francis’ statements on Indigenous people

 

Pope Francis’ statement that he is the ‘Pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers herself a mother to all’ explains why he has created such a special connection with Indigenous peoples all over the world. We feel a bond with him, much in the same way that we did with St. Pope John Paul II.

“And yet, on many occasions, in a systematic

and organized way, your people have been

misunderstood and excluded from society. Some

have considered your values, culture and traditions

to be inferior. Others, intoxicated by power,

money and market trends, have stolen your lands

or contaminated them. How sad this is! How

worthwhile it would be for each of us to examine

our consciences and learn to say, “Forgive me!”

Today’s world, ravaged as it is by a throwaway

culture, needs you!!  (15/2/16)

     And we pray

God of Holy Dreaming
Great Creator Spirit
From the dawn of creation you have given your children
The good things of Mother Earth
You spoke and the gum tree grew
In the vast deserts and dense forests, in the cities,
At the water’s edge, creation sings your praise.
Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our land.
When Jesus hung on the tree
You heard the cries of all Your people
And became one with Your wounded ones
The convicts, the hunted and the dispossessed.
The sunrise of Your Son,
Coloured the earth anew
And bathed it in glorious hope.
In Jesus we have been reconciled to You,
To each other and to Your whole creation.
Lead us on Great Spirit
As we gather at this special place
Located on land where ancestors of long ago
Gathered for work, play and praise.
Enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt of the past.
Into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.
Amen.