Religion News Selection 47 (Dec 13

Religion News Selection 47 (Dec 13 - 20)

(19 December 15)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Selection

December 13 - 20, 2015

A selection of religion news stories from Australia.

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

Inclusion here does not endorse the veracity or quality of any particular item – it just means
I found it worth reading and reflecting on (even if badly conceived or poorly written).

If you’re after the unexpurgated (and reasonably unbiased) version,
see Religion News Australia which appears weekly on our website.

ABUSE

Former Ballarat Bishop 'profoundly sorry' for moving suspect priests to new parishes (Brisbane Times)
Dec 15 - The former Bishop of Ballarat struggles to sleep at night and is "profoundly sorry" for moving priests accused of child sexual abuse to different parishes, one of his former advisers has told a royal commission.

'Poorly' Cardinal George Pell weighed down with worry over upcoming questioning (Brisbane Times)
Dec 15 - Cardinal George Pell was worried about his planned appearance at a child abuse royal commission last month, his former housemate says.

Church in controversial legal tactic to block lawsuits (Brisbane Times)
Dec 19 - The Catholic Church attempted for nearly a decade to conceal incriminating documents about child sex abuse using a controversial legal tactic that it has since renounced as "inappropriate".

Child sex abuse survivor: 'My belief in truth and justice has taken a beating' (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 19 - Stephen Woods, a survivor of horrendous sexual abuse at the hands of three religious figures within the Diocese of Ballarat when he was a schoolboy, says his belief in truth and justice has “taken an utter beating” over the past fortnight.

EDUCATION

Islamic school funding suspended (The Australian)
Dec 17 - Federal and local government funding to South Australia’s Islamic school has been suspended.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Catholic Church

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Nobel prize winner who dedicated life to the poor, to be made a saint (ABC News)
Dec 19 - Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Nobel laureate who dedicated her life to helping the poorest of the poor, will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican says.

Islam

Donald Trump's Muslim views 'tragic and full of hatred' (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 16 - The Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai has condemned Donald Trump’s views on Muslims as she attended a sombre ceremony to remember the 134 children killed in a Taliban attack on a Pakistani school a year ago.

Religious Violence

Is Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorist alliance real? (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 16 – (Opinion: Oliver Miles) In a move that seems to have taken everyone by surprise, the young Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, son of the king, announced this morning at a brief press conference – itself an unusual event – the formation of an Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism.

Other

New Zealand approves colander hats and flying noodle weddings (The West Australian)
Dec 20 - Wellington (AFP) - Colander-wearing members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster could soon be legally married in New Zealand after the church was approved to hold "Pastafarian" marriage ceremonies.

ISLAM

Enlightenment - that is what Islam truly needs (Sydney Morning Herald)
Dec 15 – (Opinion: Paul Monk) The kind of reformation that Islam needs is one that frees it from the medieval traditions and muddled histories that plague it.

Bendigo mosque appeal thrown out of court (The Age, Melbourne)
Dec 16 - Victoria's highest court has thrown out a protracted legal bid by a group of Bendigo residents to stop a mosque being built in the regional city.

We need to talk about Islam, says former radical Maajid Nawaz (Brisbane Times)
Dec 19 - People in the West are reluctant to discuss Islamism because they are frightened of being portrayed as racist, according to Maajid Nawaz, a British politician and former extremist who spent five years in an Egyptian jail.

Moderate Islam in danger (The Australian)
Dec 19 – (Opinion: John Lyons, Jennine Khalik) The Grand Mufti of Australia is under siege politically and publicly.

POLITICS

Stop megaphone politics on Islam (The Australian)
Dec 16 – (Opinion: Concetta Fierravanti-Wells) Recent calls for a reformation of Islam demand a reality check.

Liberal divisions after ASIO chief Duncan Lewis 'intervenes' on MPs' Islam comments (Sydney Morning Herald)
Dec 17 - Divisions have opened up in the Turnbull government, with right-wing MPs frustrated at the Prime Minister's reluctance to call out radical Islam and angry that ASIO boss Duncan Lewis has asked some MPs to temper their comments to avoid causing offence.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster fights for recognition in Australia (ABC News)
Dec 18 - The Australian arm of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been encouraged by New Zealand's decision to grant the church approval to conduct weddings.

Can we truly forgive? Is the Christian demand relevant today? (Brisbane Times)
Dec 19 – (Opinion: Barney Zwartz) Corrie ten Boom is famous in Christian circles for a superhuman act of grace.

From the Archive…

Religion News Australia 2015 – 47 (Dec 13 - 20)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 46 (Dec 6 - 13)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 45 (Nov 29 – Dec 6)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 44 (Nov 22 - 29)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 43 (Nov 15 - 22)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 42 (Nov 8 - 15)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 41 (Nov 1 - 8)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 40 (Oct 25 – Nov 1)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 39 (Oct 18 - 25)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 38 (Oct 11 - 18)

Religion News Australia 2015 – 37 (Sept 27 – Oct 11)