Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Catholic Church has a long history with Te Tiriti o Waitangi dating back to its signing in 1840. Caritas is strongly committed to upholding the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, guided by Catholic Social Teaching principles including human dignity - te mana o te tangata, solidarity - kotahitanga and stewardship - kaitiakitanga.
This means we will speak out when Te Tiriti o Waitangi is under threat, and advocate for our government to respect the spirit and text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation and policy, as well as encouraging our Catholic community to do the same.
As the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference said in 1990:
“Te Tiriti acknowledges the special place of the Māori people as tangata whenua (the people of the land) - that is, indigenous. They understand it to be a covenant and a taonga tapu (a sacred treasure). The Treaty also provides the moral basis for the presence of all other peoples in Aotearoa-New Zealand and guarantees reciprocal rights and obligations between the Crown and Māori.”
In 2024 we created a resource explaining the Church’s stance on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, drawing on historical statements by New Zealand Catholic Bishops as well as Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. We wrote an article explaining our position against the Treaty Principles Bill and another explaining how Catholics could respond to the Bill.