Dear Olly,

I watched the entire program and I felt
overwhelmed that this day had finally arrived.
The words of the PM and Leader of the Opposition
embraced not only the people there but I felt
that everyone watching would have been deeply
moved as well.

I agree with you that it is a shame that there
didn't appear to be any Church Leaders in the
audience. They were so needed to be present.
They are supposed to be healers after all. It would
have meant a great deal, if the horrors of the past
were acknowledged and the healing could begin.
The healers, in whatever form, - ministers,
priests, nuns, teachers, need to work with abused people
to heal their life energies, they need mighty power
to align with them in order to bring them back into
society. We need an emerging healer
consciousness in the world today, if we're to emerge
out of the darkness of past evils. But first they
needed to take this first step of acknowledgment.
For church leaders, it didn't happen. Much to their
shame.

Foxy, I feel that the churches were correct not to be involved in this apology day.
Many of the people present would not have welcomed religious authority figures at this late stage in the proceedings.

Many of these people have very angry feelings towards Brothers, Priests and Nuns, among others. And with very good reasons.

They needed someone to say sorry, and I am glad it was the Prime Minister.
It was way too late for anyone else to say sorry.

Dear Suze,

I tend to agree with Olly on this - a physical
presence of at least some prominent church leaders
would have made an official "physical"
acknowledgement by their presence - of
the wrongs done. Of course it was correct for the
the PM to make the apology on behalf of the nation.

However, Thanks CJ - for the added information. I
didn't know about the written apology by church
leaders. That somehow improves things - just a
little. Still, their physical presence would have
also helped on the day.

Dear Suze,

I do recognise the concern you make. Having representatives of the culprit religious organisations present at the Apology might have been made the victims feel uncomfortable and I have no way of knowing, if the women making the comment on TV was typical of those gathered. On the other hand, victims often voluntarily attend court cases, which is stressful.

I think the PM did the right thing fronting for the Government. Yet, I am troubled that the press statement from the Churches was just an unwanted PR exercise and that to the clerics it was to be managed like an oil spill. I conjecture the clerics would have preferred the case would have been forgotten along with their brothers’ ill deeds.

Dear Foxy,

I think we are on the same page. I suspect there were no bishops lobbying the PM to attend and to show remorse.

Foxy,

What you say about healing is so very true. And it would seem the Christian churches in many forms are not in that space. Instead, we find the situation where empathy, compassion and honesty, loose out to authority, privilege and saving face.

Cheers,

Oly

The fact of children being removed from parents by the State and placed into the care of guardians has never changed. They are still abused and viewed as second class. Are you avocating that this practise by DOCS stop! Are they the next generation we owe an apology to?