(CRUX. Elise Ann Allen).
Amid the Catholic Church’s push under Pope Francis to increasingly engage with and welcome Indigenous peoples and cultures, Australia’s bishops have approved a new liturgy incorporating elements of Aboriginal language and culture. Called the “Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit,” or Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti in Latin, the liturgy was formally approved for use in the Diocese of Broome in Western Australia on Tuesday during a plenary meeting of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in Sydney.
According to a May 7 statement from the Australian bishops, the motion to approve the Mass was brought forward by the Bishops Commission for Liturgy and was co-sponsored by the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The liturgy will now be submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and await a recognitio, or official recognition from the Vatican. Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has made of point of meeting with Indigenous groups and has often spoken out about respecting their land and cultural customs.