1997: Bringing Them Home Report tabled in Parliament
2022-05-26 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)

2017: Uluru Statement from the Heart made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders
2022-05-26 00:00 - 23:59
People talking to Jesus in the Bough Shed (1995) – Queenie McKenzie

For Reflection

The Uluru Statement was issued in May 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Australian referendum. In 1967, Australians voted to amend the Australian Constitution, allowing the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people and to include them in the census. 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders have endorsed the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart after an exhaustive and comprehensive two-year consultation process around Australia that was designed and led by Aboriginal people. Targeted structural change is called for through the Statement by establishing an ongoing First Nations Voice to Parliament, and a Makarrata Commission ‘to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history’. In 1967, Aboriginal people were counted as citizens of their own nation. Today, they seek to be fully heard, to walk with others, and to build a better future for all Australians.

Read the Statement here.

Prayer for Reconciliation

God of all creation,as we journey together in this Great Southern Land,we pray for healing, forgiveness and unity,creating a path of good will, with justice and compassion.

Jesus, through the power of your love,you have given us the courage, wisdom and strengthto share our gifts and talents in humility.

In peace and understanding we reconcile with each other.

Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgivingfor the many blessings we have received.Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one.

Amen

Aboriginal Elder women and Reconciliation Church staff members, 2014.

Music

Voice, Treaty, Truth, Now by Felix Riebl and Ollie McGillsung by Spinifex Gum and Marliya Choirs

2005: Death of Fr Ted Kennedy
2022-05-27 00:00 - 23:59

1967: Referendum allows the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people and count them in the census
2022-05-27 00:00 - 23:59

2000: 250,000 people walk for reconciliation in Sydney
2022-05-28 00:00 - 23:59

1992: Launch of the Torres Strait Islander Flag
2022-05-29 00:00 - 23:59

1992: High Court Decision in the Mabo Case
2022-06-03 00:00 - 23:59
Eddie Mabo – Marc Nemorin

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Mabo Decision where six out of seven High Court judges agreed that the Meriam people held traditional ownership of the lands of Mer in the Torres Strait. Eddie Koiki Mabo successfully argued that his family’s ancestral land was not owned by the Crown. This landmark decision in the High Court of Australia overturned ‘terra nullius’, an understanding that Australia was empty land belonging to no one before British occupation. The decision paved the way for native title in the Native Title Act of 1993. Eddie died before the decision was handed down in 1992 but his life leaves a powerful legacy: the traditional connection and occupation of land by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is now recognised in law across Australia.

Going Deeper:

https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/mabo-decision

Prayer:

Prayer for Unity

Creator God, may the power of Your grace transform us.

Christ, give us courage and hope to manifest the unity we have in you, and to share our life with each other and the world.

Holy Spirit, empower us to work for justice for the people of the earth.

God, in your grace, transform the world.

Amen.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), 2007.

Artwork:

Eddie Mabo by Marc Nemorin

Music:

Koiki by Mau Power, featuring Radical Son

Koiki by Mau Power, featuring Radical Son

1989: Tiananmen Square Massacre, Bejing
2022-06-04 00:00 - 23:59
Today we remember the students who were killed in Tiananmen Square while protesting for democracy. For last year’s anniversary, Hong Kong Catholics organised an exhibition so that younger generations may gain insight into what happened. Find our more here.

Learn about the iconic image of a lone unarmed man confronting a row of tanks here.

The Tank Man

He will live forever in our memories.
His singular act of courage and hope
proclaimed the dignity of each person
in the face of powers and principalities.

God grant us his courage and his hope.

Sandie Cornish

2000: 50,000 people Walk for Reconciliation in Brisbane
2022-06-04 00:00 - 23:59

2004: Queensland Bishops issue 'Let the Many Coastlands be glad!' Pastoral Letter on the Great Barrier Reef
2022-06-08 00:00 - 23:59
“The Holy Spirit is clearly guiding us into a deeper sense ofcompanionship and care in regard to all the varied forms of life onplanet Earth. Not only is the Reef a precious ecosystem in itself, but alsoan integral part of the one web of planetary life that connects us all –the human species and all species of the land and sea, rainforest andreef, mountains, plains and inland desert.” Catholic Bishops of Queensland, Let the Many Coastlands be Glad!, 2004

Today is a great day to read Let the Many Coastlands Be Glad! again.

For Reflection

Imagine you were helping the Queensland Bishops to draft a pastoral letter on the Great Barrier Reef today. What has changed for the Great Barrier Reef since Let the Many Coastlands Be Glad! was published? Are there new issues to address? How might you take the teaching of Pope Francis into account in updating the Queensland Bishops’ teaching?

1838: Myall Creek Massacre, NSW
2022-06-10 00:00 - 23:59
Myall Creek Massacre (2003) by Vincent Serico (1949 – 2008)

The Myall Creek Massacre was just one example of the widespread culture of frontier violence against Aboriginal people in New South Wales in the 1830’s. Despite there being strong laws against this violence, the murder of Aboriginal people was generally accepted as part of the expansion of territory by settlers. Muswellbrook police magistrate Edward Denny Day described this ongoing conflict as ‘a war of extermination’ by some stockmen, settlers, and convicts.

When Aboriginal people killed stockmen near Myall Creek as part of this frontier conflict, an expedition from Sydney led by Major James Nunn, the Commandant of the New South Wales Mounted Police, massacred up to 50 Wirrayaraay people who were camped at Waterloo Creek. Their bodies were then burned. Nearby stockmen and settlers were also encouraged by the expedition to kill any Aboriginal people they encountered.

Breaking the conspiracy of silence around the murder of this group of Aboriginal people were a station manager named William Hobbs, local police superintendent Thomas Foster, and settler Frederick Foot. Eight men were tried and found guilty of murder in the Australian Supreme Court. They were hanged on December 18, 1838. For many in the colonial community of New South Wales there was more outrage around the execution of British citizens than the massacre of the Wirrayaraay people. Future perpetrators of violence against Aboriginal people took steps to cover their tracks and avoid prosecution.

The process of radical truth telling continues today in the quest for true reconciliation, justice and peace for all Australians.

Going Deeper:

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/myall-creek-massacre

Prayer:

Prayer for Aboriginal Ancestors

Almighty God, ever-loving Father, by becoming human your Son has united himself with people of every race, language, and way of life, and through his death on the cross, mingled his blood with the blood of all Koorie people who have died unjustly throughout our history.

Hear our prayer as we remember those who died in defence of their land and traditions. Grant peace for them and all who now live in this land. May the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of the outstretched arms of him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Amen.

Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Victoria.

Artwork:

Myall Creek Massacre (2003) by Vincent Serico (1949 – 2008) Music:

We Sing by Kutcha Edwards

We Sing – Kutcha Edwards

1975: Enactment of the Racial Discrimination Act
2022-06-11 00:00 - 23:59

1988: Barunga Statement presented by Aboriginal leaders to Prime Minister Bob Hawke
2022-06-12 00:00 - 23:59
The presentation of the Barunga Statement to Prime Minister Bob Hawke was an important moment in the movement for a treaty. Learn more about how the Statement came to be presented at the Barunga Festival here.

1969: Affirmation by Arbitration Commission of the principle of equal pay for women performing equal work
2022-06-19 00:00 - 23:59

1950: The Korean War begins
2022-06-25 00:00 - 23:59

1945: Introduction of unemployment benefits in Australia
2022-06-30 00:00 - 23:59

1971: Yvonne Goolangong Crawley wins Wimbledon
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59

1970: Death of women's rights activist Jessie Street
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59
https://www.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/aboutus/who-was-jessie-street/
Jessie Street (1889-1970) was an activist, a feminist and a lifelong campaigner for women’s rights, the peace movement and the elimination of discrimination against Aboriginal people.

2016: Election of Linda Burney as first Aboriginal woman member of the Australian Parliament
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59
The Hon Linda Burney MP has contributed significantly to the development of Indigenous communities locally, regionally and nationally as an educator, championing reconciliation in Australia, as Member of the NSW Parliament, and as the Federal Member for Barton.

In 2014 she received a NAIDOC Week lifetime achievement award. You can read the citation here.

1935: Birth of the Dalai Lama in Tibet
2022-07-06 00:00 - 23:59

1839: Massacre of Aboriginal people at Chimney Pots, Grampians, Vic: 60 people estimated killed
2022-07-06 00:00 - 23:59

1985: Sinking of Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland
2022-07-10 00:00 - 23:59

1971: Aboriginal Flag first flown, Adelaide SA
2022-07-12 00:00 - 23:59
Does your parish, school or Catholic organisation fly the Aboriginal flag? If not, perhaps you can consider doing so on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday and other special dates such as Sorry Day, NAIDOC Week and Reconciliation Week?

Find out more about the Aboriginal flag here.

1995: Proclamation of Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islander Flag as official flags of Australia
2022-07-14 00:00 - 23:59
Did you know that the Australian national flag is not the only official flag of Australia? The Australian Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islander Flag were proclaimed as official flags of Australia on 14 July 1995. Find out more here.

This would be a great day to invite people from your local Aboriginal Catholic Ministry or local Land Council to talk to your parish, school or group about what it means to them for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to be officially recognized.

1945: Detonation of the first atomic bomb, New Mexico USA
2022-07-16 00:00 - 23:59
“Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and humanity itself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.” Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, n 80.

The code name for the operation that lead to the first use of this weapon of mass destruction was ‘Trinity’. It is a distressing reminder of the disordered relationship with God that underpins the quest for the power to destroy the whole of creation.

The International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons are marking the 75th anniversary of the detonation of the first atomic bomb with a webinar and campaign of action.

Anniversary of the Moon Landing (1969)
2022-07-20 00:00 - 23:59
“The ultimate destiny of the universe is in the fullness of God, which has already been attained by the risen Christ, the measure of the maturity of all things.” Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, n 83.

Find out more about the moon landing here.

For Reflection

What difference does seeing the universe as a cosmos created by God make to our attitude to the moon landing and to on-going space exploration?

1833: Approval of Emancipation Bill
2022-07-22 00:00 - 23:59
Bill abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire was passed on the second reading in the House of Commons on this day.

1965: First Indochinese refugees allowed to settle in Australia
2022-08-02 00:00 - 23:59
On this day, we celebrate the contribution of Indochinese refugees to Australian society and reflect on the varying quality of welcome extended by our community to asylum seekers over the past fifty-five years.

Our first Vietnamese-born Australian Bishop is Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv. He is the Bishops’ Delegate for Migrants and Refugees and the Chair of the Bishops’ Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service. Learn more about how Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen’s coat of arms tells his story here.

Saint Dominic's Feast Day (Australia)
2022-08-03 00:00 - 23:59
“Truth was Dominic’s motto and his goal. Dominic was born in Spain, the youngest of four children. He was outstanding for his love of truth, his clear thought, his organizing ability, and his sensitive, loving nature. For Dominic, love for people was part of his love for God.” Loyola Press

2014: Death of Ms Dhu, an Aboriginal woman, at South Hedland, WA, sparking a national outcry
2022-08-04 00:00 - 23:59
More information here.
