The Mass has a history of use in Diocese of Broome for over 50 years and is celebrated in multiple local languages.

Speaking on the occasion of the annual Mass for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton said it is our hope is that this Mass would be the most significant prayer for all our people and the great sign that Jesus walks with us into a new beginning that is opening up for Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and every other Australian in our land.

Darwin Bishop Gauci said while the debate leading up to the referendum was “intense and, at times, challenging”, there was an “overwhelming consensus […] that more should be done to address the injustice experienced by so many First Nations people”.

The Diocese of Broome community have recently come together in two special celebrations to mark the anniversary of Missa Kimberley and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday.

Under the partnership, St John of God has provided $160,000 in scholarship funding that will support four of the University’s Indigenous medical students over the four years of their postgraduate degree program.

Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann trained in a Catholic mission school in her rural community near Darwin and went on to become the first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher in the Northern Territory.

Jesuit Fr Frank Brennan SJ has recently talked about the impending decision and vote of the Voice; the referendum to decide to change the Australian constitution to recognise our First Nations People.

“We must strive to listen to community leaders who know what is good for their communities just as those of us who are not Indigenous know what is good for ourselves and our loved ones,” writes Fr Frank.

Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation was founded by five Elders from Western Sydney – home to one of the largest urban First Australian populations in Australia.

The three-day immersion program for state and federal judges began last Wednesday with a Welcome to Country and formal dinner on the grounds of Notre Dame’s Broome campus, followed by a panel discussion with members of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council.

A lent resource Take a Walk with a Yamatji Man, The Way of the Cross – A Healing Journey, released by the Archdiocese of Perth in an 18-minute video, encourages the community to reflect and pray together this Holy season. By Amanda Murthy.