"Primarily, this report is an accounting of the vibrancy and sacredness that constitutes Catholic faith and Native American cultures. The confluence of faith and culture is at the center of what it means to be both Native American and Catholic, and the emergence of these two currents, and how they merge into a single source of spirituality and evangelization, is at the center of this report. Ministry to Catholic Native Americans, therefore, can be understood as two rivers that merge to make one. Further, this report hopes to assist in developing an understanding of Catholic Native American ministry, its gifts to the Catholic Church, current and future challenges, and the need for evangelization. Finally, the report contains a series of specific recommendations from the Bishop’s Subcommittee on Native American Affairs based on identified needs and priorities...
Although the lives of Native American holy men and women have deeply enhanced Catholic Native American spirituality, Native cultures also provide principles that enrich the rest of American culture. One of these is the principle of restorative justice. Restorative justice has developed from the Native American cultures to challenge how the criminal justice system functions, especially in the transformation of victims, perpetrators and society. Pope Francis has spoken of Native American cultures and how they tend to reverence Creation, show care for the environment, and live in balance within the domains of the natural world...
The Good News of salvation is not bound by time or human structures. Christ's Gospel of love and redemption, addressed to all people, transcends national boundaries, cultural differences, and divisions among peoples. It cannot be considered foreign anywhere on earth; nor can it be considered identical with any particular cultures or heritage. It is the common blessing of all."
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