wfn.org | Australian Churches Urge Action on 'Stolen Generations' Report

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Educating Churches on Involvement in the History of Child Removal

SYDNEY, Australia/GENEVA 7 June (LWI/ENI)- The National Council of Churches
in Australia is asking nation to act on the recommendations of a
controversial report about the forcible removal of indigenous children from
their families during six decades of the 20th century.

The removal by the federal authorities, with the co-operation of churches,
of many Aboriginal children-now known as the "stolen generations"-from their
families between 1910 and 1970 remains one of the most sensitive issues in
Australian society. Many of the children were put in church-run institutions
where it was intended they should adapt to white culture.

The council represents 13 major churches, including Lutheran, Catholic,
Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting, Orthodox and the Salvation Army. In a statement
mid-May, the Council's executive body recommended the establishment of a
"healing commission" and a national government fund to either compensate or
otherwise help the victims of forcible removal.

The National Council of Churches has now publicly committed itself to
educating the churches on their involvement in the history of child removal,
making church and agency records accessible and addressing allegations of
abuse in church-related institutions.

In a public statement, the council's executive described the removals as "a
complex tragedy," adding that "the fundamental truth of the stories of the
Stolen Generations, and their pain, cannot be denied. As representatives of
the churches, we call on our people, and the nation at large, to acknowledge
the validity of the Bringing them Home report and its recommendations."

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches
in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does
not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material
may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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