Reconciliation Action Plan – Introduction

All Saints Parish pays respect to the Turrbal People, the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather to celebrate our faith and worship God. We acknowledge with respect the elders past, present and emerging.

Background to All Saints Parish Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

In November 2020, Archbishop Mark Coleridge formally endorsed a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for Brisbane Archdiocese. The RAP commits the Archdiocese to positive action in building higher trust, lower prejudice, and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) cultures.

David Miller, the National Co-chair of the NATSIC Reconciliation Reference Group noted that the Archdiocese’s RAP is a time for healing, acceptance, storytelling and education about rich ATSI history and culture. It is a time to address past wrong-doings and injustices suffered by many First Nations people and a time to address racism and prejudice.

The RAP document commits all Archdiocesan agencies, including parishes to positive action. Some specific actions are the inclusion of an Acknowledgement of Country at public events and major liturgies along with exploring ways to integrate indigenous artwork into worship spaces and liturgies.

All Saints Parish has been ‘ahead of the curve!’ We have been taking positive action for many months before the Archdiocese officially launched the RAP. An Acknowledgement of Country has been included before our major liturgies every weekend and we are in the enviable position of having a Catholic Indigenous artist in our parish who has been creating inspirational images and artifacts for our worship space and screens. As recommended in the Archdiocese’s RAP, we also ritually acknowledge past wrong-doing and injustices to First Nations people.

Many popes including Francis have spoken extensively about the dignity and the plight of First Nations peoples throughout the world, especially within the context of the Church. Pope St John Paul II specifically addressed our Australian context at Alice Springs in 1986 telling us that “we long for the day when we are fully the Church that Jesus wants us to be, a Church where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make their contribution to her life, and that contribution is joyfully received by others.”

All Saints commitment to the Archdiocesan Reconciliation Action Plan is a small step towards making John Paul II’s vision a reality in our parish and in the Church in Australia.