Pope urges reform in Australia for aborigines
Pope Benedict XVI has called on Australians to address the social divisions that have left hundreds of thousands of Aborigines living in dire poverty.
Benedict also urged Aboriginal elders to lead their communities away from drug abuse, crime and alcoholism.
“I encourage them to exercise authority wisely through faithfulness to their traditions – songs, stories, paintings, dances – and most especially through a renewed expression of their deep awareness of God,” the Pope said in a statement delivered by retired Cardinal Edward Cassidy at a meeting of Roman Catholics in Alice Springs yesterday.
