Keywords: National Apology
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RELIGION
- Geraldine Doogue
- 02 April 2024
5 Comments
Each year, the Stations of the Cross liturgy affects me more than I had planned. Annually, I am left wondering: why does this ritual work? Well, it has much to offer: a narrative with exposition, climax and denouement; characters big and small; blood, gore, politics, virtue, cowardice and a pointer towards mystery.
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AUSTRALIA
Sam Kerr’s alleged comment to a UK police officer has divided opinion as to whether it constitutes racism. The central question involves whether a structural understanding of racism should supersede a universal, neutral sense of racism of the kind that is enshrined in law.
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AUSTRALIA
- Joel Hodge
- 04 January 2024
The Australian Indigenous Voice referendum has been rejected, as anticipated by many, with the meaning and consequences now up for debate. This debate may be as crucial as the referendum debate itself to determining the future of reconciliation and what it means to be Australian in the 21st century.
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AUSTRALIA
- Joel Hodge
- 19 October 2023
44 Comments
The Australian Indigenous Voice referendum has been rejected, as anticipated by many, with the meaning and consequences now up for debate. This debate may be as crucial as the referendum debate itself to determining the future of reconciliation and what it means to be Australian in the 21st century.
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FAITH DOING JUSTICE
- Andrew Hamilton
- 21 August 2023
10 Comments
The Catholic Bishops Justice Statement, timed with an impending Referendum on the Voice to Parliament, scrutinizes the ties between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. Crafted alongside the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, it underscores the urgency of deepened engagement through listening, learning, and love, advocating for Indigenous justice and healing.
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AUSTRALIA
- James Massola
- 05 April 2023
17 Comments
Peter Dutton confirmed the Liberal party will oppose to the Indigenous Voice to parliament, putting him at odds with a new prime minister, Indigenous leaders, and community sentiment. With the Aston byelection defeat, concerns have arisen over the party's direction and the narrowing path back to the Lodge.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Barry Gittins
- 20 December 2022
1 Comment
When we reflect on how best to live with the consequences of our shared, bloodied history, The Australian Wars calls for a counter-narrative; a re-positioning and re-phrasing of what has brought us to this point in our oft-stalled journey towards reconciliation.
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AUSTRALIA
- Glenn Loughrey
- 14 December 2022
1 Comment
In reflecting upon the Statement from the Heart, we need to explore what it is, what it is not, and how it works. The creative dynamic of the Statement is that it is a tool of justice and heart-healing. It is restorative justice writ large, involving the elements that make up the process leading to a resolution of the past and a creative response to the future by enacting justice in the present.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Binoy Kampmark
- 20 September 2022
7 Comments
When more nuanced commentary around the passing of Queen Elizabeth II came to the fore, it was hard to avoid the difficult realities of the British monarchy and an institution that has not, through its history, delighted those conquered in its name. With Elizabeth II, it was notable that she let an opportunity to engage the topic of empire in Britain’s collective memory go begging.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 06 May 2022
5 Comments
Whoever is Prime Minister after the election on May 21, he will need to address the question of Indigenous recognition in the Australian Constitution. This is the sixth election in a row when the question has been a live, unresolved issue during the election campaign. The patience of Indigenous leaders is understandably wearing thin. Trust is waning. There is still no clear path ahead. So where to from here?
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AUSTRALIA
- Dean Ashenden
- 03 May 2022
6 Comments
The danger is that unless commissions and inquiries are accompanied by other ways of telling other truths they will inadvertently help to shrink that national story into the story of victims who in fact have never been only victims, and of unmentioned perpetrators who in fact have never been only perpetrators. They risk preaching to a more-or-less converted majority and to an implacably unconverted minority.
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RELIGION
- John Warhurst
- 05 April 2022
19 Comments
The 280 Plenary Council (PC) Members have just taken another major step towards the Second Assembly in Sydney on 3-9 July. Yet it is difficult to have a proper public conversation about this step because it has taken place behind closed doors. Towards the Second Assembly comes a long way under the guidance of the four writing groups, whose membership has not been made public. Though it is a mixed bag, it is probably the best document emerging from the PC, making it even more frustrating that it is not in the public domain.
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