By Bishop Don Sproxton
The dreaming stories of the Aboriginal people of Alice Springs, are inspired by the remarkable ranges that run east and west of the town.
The forms of the MacDonnell Ranges remind you of the caterpillar. So there are many stories about how things have come to be in which the caterpillar figures largely.
One of these stories is about the caterpillar that wanted to travel south to the great sea. He would not heed the warnings from the others that he must only travel from the east to the west, as all the others have always done.
The caterpillar was determined to go his own way. He was about to pass through a gap but was challenged not to proceed any further by a giant beetle. Still, he would not stop but attempted to go on, at which point, as the story goes, the beetle bit off the caterpillar’s head. Today, you can see the unusual hill running at an angle to the rest of the ranges and in the centre of the gap is a smaller hill, the head, seemingly separated from it.
I appreciate the connection of the Aboriginal people to their land and how their spirituality has been fashioned by the environment.
Their stories of the Dreamtime are ways of explaining their origins and respect for the world around them.
We, the people who have come to Australia much later, received a tradition that helped us to understand the way things are in the Book of Genesis, particularly the gradual alienation of humanity from God and the need for Christ to come to restore the relationship on our behalf.
I joined the other members of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People in Alice Springs in April as we provided a retreat for the members of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council and the diocesan Aboriginal Catholic Ministries from around the country.
Normally, our meetings are for business, but it had been felt by the NATSICC members that a retreat would be very valuable in building an important foundation of trust and deeper respect as we listened to one another in a spirit of prayer. It turned out to be a moment of great grace and communion.
The starting point was how to pray with the scriptures. To this end, we used a form of Lectio Divina and discovered that its method could be applied to our listening to one another. Every activity over the days we spent together was transformed by the experience of this prayer. Key sessions on symbols, initiation, sacrament and mission, as understood by the Church and Aboriginal people, were presented. There was remarkable agreement to be found in both traditions. Particularly moving was the note of deep appreciation that was made by an Aboriginal elder for the knowledge about Jesus that her people received from the Catholic missionaries.
Alice Springs was chosen as this year marks the 30th anniversary since Pope John Paul II visited Australia and gave his address there to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. We were privileged to be able to celebrate Mass at Blatherskite Park as he had done and to recall his words of encouragement all those years ago. Much has been achieved, but much more must be done since that day the Pope challenged the entire nation to acknowledge that we will be lacking something vital if we do not welcome the contribution of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters to the Australian conversation on who we are and where we are going.
Another significant experience was provided by John Lochowiak, the Chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, when he presented an overview of the Aboriginal tribal and family structures, the place of women in the traditional society alongside men, and the development of the stories and their transmission from place to place.
John was able to tell us the aspects of these traditions that are not restricted by Aboriginal law. His presentation gave each of us a fresh understanding of the culture and customs of the people, and how all cultures in Australia would benefit from learning from the experience of the people who have occupied and been provided for by this land for nearly 60,000 years.
I returned to Perth, pondering on these days I had spent with great people engaged in Aboriginal ministries around Australia. I asked myself how can our Aboriginal brothers and sisters be encouraged to make their unique contribution to our society. I see that relationships need to be deepened, by all the people of our nation showing respect for each culture, especially that of the first peoples of this land.
This respect includes the acknowledgement that the Aboriginal people were occupiers and stewards of their land, according to their unique systems and the dictates of the difficult environment. It is about listening to each other respectfully. The retreat showed how it can be done.
From page 6 from Issue 3: ‘Education: Teaching, Learning and Technology in 2016’ of The Record Magazine