International Conference: The Indigenous Face of the Church

Written by USCCB Staff 

During the week of September 18, 2023, through September 22, 2023, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee on Native American Affairs hosted an International Conference on Catholic Indigenous Ministry. The meeting and events were held in Washington D.C.

The Catholic Conferences of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States came together to dialogue and learn from one another on how to support and encourage Catholic Indigenous ministry. The various Catholic Conferences were invited because of their shared cultural, linguistic, evangelization history, and the relationship between the Catholic church and the respective Indigenous communities. 

This is the first time that these four Bishops’ Conferences have come together for dialogue on this ministry. This International Conference offered a historic opportunity for the four episcopal conferences as well as the Catholic Indigenous representatives in attendance to take advantage of a shared wisdom in ministering to Indigenous populations in their countries.

The participants exchanged ideas, information about programs, and resources for the enhancement of Catholic Indigenous ministry during the first part of the Conference. The Conference included moments of free exchange between bishops and the Catholic Indigenous leaders on specific topics and areas of concern. The dialogue between Bishops and Indigenous leaders was designed to promote interpersonal relationships, build trust and understanding, and offer potential future direction to their respective Indigenous ministries.

The topics discussed included evangelization, education, reconciliation, and healing, inculturation, and social concerns such as poverty, racism, and the environment.  One of the purposes of the gathering was to learn from one another and to explore ways to reinvigorate, enhance and grow Catholic Indigenous ministry.

Another aspect of this initiative was to help develop relationships across borders and oceans, not only among the bishops, but especially between Catholic Indigenous leaders. The hope is that the relationships will grow and develop over time, while increasing knowledge and solidarity within the global Catholic Indigenous ministries, and that they will help empower both Indigenous leaders and Indigenous ministry within the Church.