wfn.org | Australian Lutherans appeal for justice in land rights issues

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

ADELAIDE, Australia/GENEVA, 26 March 1998 (lwi) - The Lutheran Church of
Australia (LCA) has called on the federal government and Australian
community to pursue justice for all those affected by native title issues.

In a recently released LCA statement on "The Land", the church says the
Australian community and government need to pursue justice for those who
have continuously lived on the land of their ancestors, current legal
owners of land, those who would be denied access to ancestral land if
native title were extinguished, and those who hold pastoral leases and are
concerned about their tenure, for whom there is now no realistic hope of
restoration.

"Issues of land justice are complex and contentious, and have to be worked
through with patience and understanding," says the statement prepared by
the LCA's Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations. The statement,
which has been released to all Lutheran pastors and congregations around
Australia calls on LCA members to live in harmony and friendship with all
people. "In particular, we encourage them to support indigenous people in
their legitimate aspirations, especially their continuing need to live on
the land of their ancestors or have access to it," it says.

"We deeply regret the dispossession of their lands, and consequent
suffering endured by Australia's Aboriginal inhabitants. We acknowledge
with deep sadness the mistakes and sins of the church, including misguided
zeal, which sometimes contributed to the loss of an anchoring culture among
Aboriginal Australians.

"We rejoice that the Church has served Aboriginal people with the Gospel
for many years, and has provided valuable physical and educational help. We
also rejoice that our church took a lead in restoring land to Aboriginal
people."

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/