Naysayers similarly questioned the sincerity of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when, in early 2008, he made a public apology to his country's aboriginal peoples for the government's longstanding policies of racial segregation, containment, and de facto abuse. Others welcomed the Prime Minister's words. One was Fr. Michael Lapsley of South Africa: "Of course, an apology does not take away the truth of the wrong that was done and the pain that continues to be felt through the generations of indigenous Australians. Nevertheless there is no doubt that this representative acknowledgement ... can be balm in the wounds, a major step and a turning point on the long journey towards restorative justice and healing for all. Over the years I have heard many of you speak about your own sense of guilt and shame about what happened in your country's history. Today I am sure that many of you shed tears of joy that finally the day has come in a dignified way to squarely face the horror of what happened and to travel a new journey." ... He realized that an apology - any apology - is singularly important because if often represents the first crucial step without which dialogue, let alone forgiveness, can never develop.
Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?, pp.211
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