History
Recent History
Bureau’s Recent History
Revitalization is the word that may sum up what has happened in the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in the past two decades. Since the 1977 Statement of the Bishops, sincere efforts have been made to advance programs and there has been a renewed enthusiasm evident in the top ranks of Church leaders involved with the Native Americans.
The Church leader primarily responsible for the revitalization was John Cardinal Krol, archbishop of Philadelphia when the 1977 Statement was issued. Working with him and with the same enthusiasm was Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York and Archbishop William Donald Borders of Baltimore. Since then other leaders like John Cardinal O’Connor of New York, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia and William Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore. Board members have been most supportive of the Native American apostolate and have been advocates of the programs set forth and put into operation by the Bureau Office in Washington.
“For over 125 years, the Catholic Church has been faithful in bringing the truth and message of the Gospels to the American Indians in every corner of the United States.”
With a 125-year history that would need volumes if all of the meaningful details could be recorded and put into proper perspective. That is the legacy of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions as it moves along into the future.
But let an Indian woman give a final insight into the richness that the Church’s more than a century old history of concern and love for Indian people is still only beginning to tap:
“Every tribe of Indians is unique. Each has its own language, tribal customs, moral code, priorities and each has its own religious life. Before the invasion of the White people Indian tribes had religious beliefs and practices directly related to their spiritual needs, to their particular mode of life and to the land. Whether in the mountains, the plains, or valleys, their territorial home was a core value to the whole of their lives and was intimately linked to their spirituality. What they all have in common is:
- a relationship of awe for the Supreme Being,
- a spirituality that is intimately related to their land, to nature and the whole cosmos,
- communal tribal experiences of religious expression, and
- ritual.
“The Indian concept of religious is all pervasive. The White person may tend to categorize it, associating it with going to church, praying before meals and the like. Not so the Red people. Their lives are integrated and whole, centered on the conviction of the ever present power of the Supernatural One. One can say quite truthfully that religious is their way of life. For them the presence, the spirit of the Supreme Power is everything.†(Sister Mary Charles Bryce, O.S.B., Cherokee Indian, in living Light Journal, Spring 1977.)
It can be truly said that for over 125 years, the Catholic Church has been faithful in bringing the truth and message of the Gospels to the American Indians in every corner of the United States.
Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Photo Archive:
