Jesus For Land Rights

The Catholic Church supports Aboriginal land rights, asserting that indigenous cultures should not be undermined, according to the teachings of Paul II in 1537 and the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in 1659.

Last century Pope Pius XI taught that a right to acquire and hold lands could only be on the grounds of first occupancy. Tied to this was the right to exist as a distinct culture, which couldn't be separated from property rights and subsequently self-determination. Leo XIII made this connection between property rights and self determination clear with the western example of the head of a family fulfilling the duty to provide for family through property, and ultimately through the transmission of property to children.

The Catholic church believes that cultures should not just be preserved, but should be promoted and upheld for their contribution to the salvation of their members.

With regard to today's struggle for land rights, the Australian Church asserts that right to land arises from its religious significance to indigenous peoples. As such, land rights are a matter of religious freedom.

Read more about the modern Church's support of land rights.

Read more on Australian Land Rights issues.