It is important for the Church to delve more deeply into the history of the indigenous communities it serves, and to listen more deeply, in order to fully understand and adequately respond to the present reality of the Aboriginal people, says Fr Jim Knight SVD, who lives and works in Central Australia.

Fr Jim, who joined the Divine Word Missionaries in 1957 in Marburg, Queensland, has stepped down now from his role as Parish Priest at Santa Teresa, an Aboriginal community about 80 km from Alice Springs. But he will continue to live and minister in the community, while also exploring the history of the Arrernte people of Central Australia and their contact and growing relationship with European people over the decades.