Property leaves Catholic Church facing moral dilemma

October 16, 2026 — 5:00am

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The Catholic Church has done magnificent work with Indigenous Australians for many years but that proud history brings the failures in one particular case in Sydney into sharp relief.

The Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) partly operates out of a small former Redfern primary school, owned by the archdiocese of Sydney. The service has treated the city’s sickest and most disadvantaged and is recognised globally as a pioneer in Indigenous healthcare. Now, after 55 years, it wants to acquire the property.

However, the Herald’s Bevan Shields has revealed that the archdiocese has rejected repeated requests to transfer the Turner Street building.

Shields writes that owning the site would........

© The Sydney Morning Herald