A global Protestant group representing 80 million Christians has issued an apology for the role played by churches in perpetrating abuse against Native Americans, First Nations and other indigenous peoples.

"We repent of our history littered with ways in which we betrayed Gospel values of justice, fairness, and love for our neighbor by the confiscation of land, and mass killings," delegates at the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches said in a 26 June statement.

In their statement, they said they hoped that through "genuine repentance" they would have courage to repair broken relationships and begin new paths of reconciliation.   (READ more of the Ecumenical News article in JMM)