New Zealand will host Church representatives from Australia, Canada and the United States next week at the second international gathering focused on enhancing ministry to Indigenous Catholics. Source: NZCBC.
The first International Conference on Catholic Indigenous was held in the United States in 2023. The initiative was established to allow for dialogue, consultation and collaboration between representatives of Catholic Indigenous organisations, bishops and others entrusted with the pastoral care of Indigenous people.
Auckland Diocese Vicar for Social Impact Loraine Elliot and Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe are co-chairs of the upcoming gathering, which will be held in Auckland. Mrs Elliott said it is a privilege to host the event.
“New Zealand is the smallest of the four member nations, but we are pleased to welcome delegates to a country whose formal Catholic presence is almost 200 years old,” she said.
“While we will have a chance to speak to our own history as Māori Catholics and as Catholic Māori, our emphasis is on how the shared experience across our four countries can shape ongoing ministry efforts.”
Among other aspirations for the fledgling group is to become a voice for matters relevant to the life, needs and contributions of Indigenous Catholic communities.
Manuel Beazley, who chairs Te Rōpū Māori, an advisory group to the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, said that voice has been growing within the Church’s halls of power.
“I was fortunate to be one of a number of First Nations peoples to participate in the Synod on Synodality, which ensured that our unique voice and our unique understanding formed part of the Church’s ongoing work to find ways to walk together as the Body of Christ,” he said.
“Our ICCI gathering will carry forward those conversations in a focused way and in ways we hope can augment current initiatives to minister well to Indigenous Catholics.”
About 50 delegates from the four countries are expected to attend the gathering, along with two officials from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
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