of tradition should be put aside in the name of traditionalism, that is, the freezing of perspectives and ethical principles in the past: usually understood as some kind of pristine golden age when everything was as good and right as things could be. The fundamentalists also caucus, in various Synods and dioceses, to get their own people into power as bishops – people who come across, generally, as rather ignorant when it comes to the nuances of traditional wisdom, and rather more concerned with the exercise of power against those perceived as enemies. This caucusing also places enormous pressure upon those wise and loving bishops who remain, causing many of them to feel that they cannot speak and guide with either authority or clarity any more. All this means that the bishops we have are very often quite silent in the face of rising levels of abuse directed towards the last and the least, or else so distracted by the internal politics of the Church that they barely notice what is going on in the world about them. Obviously, the Anglican Church, along with every other church, has a shameful history with our people. The Church worked hand in glove with the state to remove us from country, destroy our culture, and maintain the system of child removals and orphanages by which, it was hoped, we might be ‘assimilated’ into the white population. Indeed, that remains the preferred model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the church. Behave, pretend you are an honorary white person, be happy with your lot as the undeserving 91
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