The Catholic parish in the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs has offered prayer and sympathy to the Aboriginal community after the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The parish priest of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish, Fr Prakash Menezes SVD, said that 50 to 70 people attended a vigil in the church on the day that her body was discovered so that they could pray and light candles.
Although the child and her immediate family are not Catholic, there are some Catholic connections in their extended family.
Darwin Bishop Charles Gauci said that the local community has been filled with “shock, grief, disappointment and confusion”.
The sisters of the Missionaries of Charity are connecting with and supporting some members of the family, he said.
Bishop Gauci reflected that the tragic death is part of “the whole challenging situation of ministry, of how we work in solidarity and companionship with our First Nations, our Aboriginal people. It’s a big part of our ministry here in this diocese.”
Destructive rioting in Alice Springs followed the discovery of the child’s body.
Bishop Gauci said “wherever there is grief, there is anger and frustration. But the local elders have been urging people to be proportionate of how they express that, not to go over the top. It’s fantastic that the elders have been doing that.”
In a Facebook post, the bishop called for calm. “We need to pause so that more harm will not take place. We hold in our hearts the family grieving the loss of a child, and all who are affected. May we choose peace over anger, compassion over division, and stand together as a community seeking healing.”
The family has not announced a date for the funeral of Kumanjayi Little Baby. The community is observing sorry business in accordance with Warlpiri customs.
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Catholic community offers support to family of Kumanjayi Little Baby (The Catholic Weekly)
