Bishops: learn from Aboriginal Australians’ love for the land
July 24, 2014
In a recent message for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, Australia’s bishops called upon Catholics to learn from indigenous peoples to love the land.
“Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have joyfully embraced the good news of Jesus, and become part of the community of his disciples,” the bishops said. “In encountering Jesus they do not abandon their feeling for the land. On the contrary, in him, they find new reasons to love the land and to ‘care for country.’”
“The rest of us can learn from them to allow ourselves to experience our interconnection with the land at a deep level, and to know the call of God to act with respect and love for God’s creatures and for their habitats,” the bishops added. “The witness of indigenous Australians can teach all members of the Christian community to see that when we gather for Eucharist, and when we bring gifts of bread and wine to the altar, we hold this land with all its creatures up to God.”
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Further information:
- Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday (ACBC)
- Custodi della terra (L’Osservatore Romano, p. 7)
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