The theme that has been chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee to celebrate NAIDOC 2022 is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! It is a theme that is a call to action inviting all Australians to engage in the “ministry of reconciliation” where we work together to create a just, equitable and harmonious society, as together, we “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!” in support of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers.

NAIDOC is a time for all Australians to join with our First Nations’ peoples in celebrating the achievements that together, our country has already made as we move into the future. It is a time to celebrate and acknowledge the rich traditions and cultural heritage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples offer to our country. As St John Paul II in his Alice Springs Address reminded us, “We know that we will not be ‘fully the Church that Jesus wants’ us to be until Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made their contribution to the life of the Church and ‘until that contribution has been joyfully received by others’ within the Church.” It is a sentiment that is echoed in the Framework for Motions for the Plenary Council which makes the following proposals for the Catholic Church in Australia:

1. That the Catholic Church says sorry to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in and beyond the Church for the part played by the Church in the harms they have suffered;
2. That the Catholic Church commits to continuing to work towards recognition and reconciliation;
3. That the Catholic Church joyfully receives and accepts the recommendations contained in the NATSICC position paper “Embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Life of the Catholic Church;” and
4. That the Catholic Church endorses the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

As we celebrate NAIDOC in our communities may we demonstrate the willingness to “Get Up!”and support our First Nations’ peoples in their walk towards greater justice, equity, and the proper recognition of their rights.

May we have the courage to “Stand Up!” and acknowledge with pride and gratitude the faithful stewardship of this land by our First Nations’ peoples for over 65,000 years.

May we be steeled with the determination to “Show Up!” so that this drive towards a fairer, more caring Australia for all will never “lose momentum for change.”

We pray…

God of The Dreaming, your Holy Spirit hovered over our land,
lovingly creating its people, animals, and landscapes.
Inspire all Australians to value this noble past,
working together to ensure a future of respect, dignity and justice for all who call Australia home.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.