Brisbane Archdiocese has unveiled the second iteration of its Reconciliation Action Plan, which covers the period 2023–2025.
A RAP is a strategic document containing practical actions that drive an organisation’s contribution to reconciliation with First Nations people both internally and in the communities in which it operates.
The revised plan has been endorsed by the Canberra-based peak body Reconciliation Australia.
It is categorised as an “Innovate RAP”, which allows organisations to gain a deeper understanding of their own sphere of influence, and to establish the best approach to advancing reconciliation.
The refreshed RAP covers all agencies, parishes and communities within the archdiocese, who are being encouraged again to read, absorb and implement the action plan in their local settings.
It starts from the premise that building strong relationships with First Nations peoples is necessary for the local Church to credibly witness to the Gospel.
To this end, archdiocesan agencies, parishes and schools must seek opportunities to build on the participation rate of First Nations peoples, either through paid employment and volunteerism, or by engaging external services and resources from businesses that employ First Nations peoples.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the RAP was a remarkable achievement and the fruit of a long journey.
“It hasn’t just popped out of nowhere in the last few years, but rather has very, very deep roots and is also the work of many hands and hearts,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“The RAP is about concrete action, to try and build bridges and knock down walls certainly, but also to try and get beneath symptoms, to tackle causes.
“As long as you’re tackling just the symptoms, they will recur endlessly; and that is the ongoing tragedy of our First Peoples’ dispossession and disadvantage.
“So we are trying to get beneath the symptoms to tackle the cause, knowing that this is an issue that goes to the very heart of the nation.”
PHOTO
Archbishop Mark Coleridge with Evangelisation Brisbane’s RAP Project Manager Joni McCourt, second left, Indigenous author Anita Heiss and Associate Director of Inclusion Eric Robinson at the inaugural Archdiocese of Brisbane’s Reconciliation Dinner on September 14 (Brisbane Archdiocese)
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Archdiocese of Brisbane RAP 2.0 unveiled (Brisbane Archdiocese)
