Australian prime minister apologizes to Aboriginal peoples

Published: 2008-02-13

CANBERRA, Australia (CNS) -- Members of Parliament and visitors gave Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a standing ovation after he made a long-awaited apology to Australia's Aboriginal peoples. Rudd spoke of the "profound grief, suffering and loss" experienced by an estimated 50,000 indigenous people over 70 years of government assimilation policies predicated on separating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and homes. The indigenous peoples of those decades are now referred to as the Stolen Generations. Separated from their families, the children were raised at church-run missions and sent into the work force as farm laborers and domestic help. Many did not know their original identity or where they came from. Their stories of generational dislocation and loss were collected in "Bringing Them Home," a government-mandated human rights report published in 1997.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .