Aborigines play prominent role in pope's welcome to Australia

Published: 2008-07-17

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- To the haunting drone of didgeridoo, Pope Benedict XVI's arrival at Rose Bay began with a "sweeping dance" performed by three young Australian Aborigines. The clearing of debris from the ground ahead of the pope symbolized "purification and new beginnings," said one of the dancers, Matt Shields, 23, a Kamilaroi from western New South Wales. The dance was one of several events highlighting Australia's indigenous peoples July 17, the pope's first day of participating in World Youth Day events. Earlier in the day, Pope Benedict had spoken about new beginnings for Australia's indigenous peoples during a brief speech at Sydney's Government House when he applauded the government's recent apology to Aborigines for the stolen generations forcibly separated from their families. The Australian government's acknowledgment of injustices against indigenous peoples, the pope said, was "courageous." At Rose Bay, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the Sydney basin, welcomed Pope Benedict to Sydney Harbor's shore. Allen Madden, a 59-year-old Gadigal elder, welcomed the pope "as a man of hope, love and peace" into his ancestors' country.

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 The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in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 .