Church Apologizes for Sins Against Indigenous People

BAGUIO CITY, October 13, 2010-Addressing the "sins" it committed against the tribal communities, the Catholic Church has begged for forgiveness from the indigenous peoples and vowed to do everything possible to protect them.

The Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the church is sorry for its disrespect of other cultures such as the colonization of native peoples in the past.

ECIP chairman Bishop Sergio Utleg said they want to apologize for moments when they entered native communities "from a position of power, indifferent to their struggles and pains."

"As we continue to welcome IPs into the Catholic community, we ask forgiveness for suppressing their spirit as a people and the moments when we injured their personhood as they took on a new identity as Catholics," Utleg said.

"We ask forgiveness for moments when we taught Christianity as a religion robed with colonial cultural superiority, instead of sharing it as a religion that calls for a relationship with God and a way of life."

The bishop made the statement on October 10 as the church and various indigenous communities marked this year's celebration of the IP Sunday in Baguio City on October 10.

With the theme "Healing for Solidarity: Asking for Forgiveness for Sins against Indigenous Peoples", most activities until October 12 were held at the Baguio Cathedral.

A group of IPs, meanwhile, accepted the church's apology as it noted that unity can be the "strongest asset of the indigenous peoples to change the flight we face."

"Learning from past mistakes forges stronger ties," the group Katribu said in a statement. "Together with the Filipino people, the Church and indigenous peoples can work for a peaceful future," it added.

Katribu is the progressive party of the indigenous peoples which account for 15 percent of the country's population.

The "tong-tongan" reconciliatory rites and other tribal rituals were also held at the cathedral on October 11.

Officiated by elders, tong-tongan is one way of settling land disputes in the town of Buguias in Benguet province in northern Luzon.

Majority of the IP participants from different dioceses across the country underscored the continuing encroachment of mining ventures into their ancestral domains and assault of indigenous cultures as their major concerns.

The half-day activity also paved the way for the presentation of agreements and exchange of gifts, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist.

Some bishops earlier asked the Truth Commission created by President Benigno Aquino III to look into "environmental crimes."

A "bodong" (peace pact) ritual, popular in the neighboring Kalinga province in the Cordilleras, was also held on Oct. 12.

During the ritual, the "hurts" caused by the church was expressed by the representatives of the IPs. Then, representatives of the church expressed the asking forgiveness.

It was followed by presentation of certain points of agreements, consisting of the calls of the IPs to the Church.

An exchange of symbolic gifts to each party concluded the rite followed by the celebration of the Eucharist.

"This is evidently the beginning of a long-term process of dialogue between the Christian faith the way of life of the indigenous peoples," said Tony Abuso, program coordinator of the ECIP Secretariat.

The dialogue is expected to lead to a "change of heart, ways of thinking, discernment, and theologizing, as well as, paradigm shifts in approaches and pastoral programs of the Church," he said.

Bishop Utleg also said that the church and government can work together to help solve the concerns of the tribal communities through consultation and a continuous cultural exchange. (Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)