Religion News Australia
June 19 – 26, 2022
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
EDUCATION
Parents at Sydney Anglican school St Catherine’s reject ‘hurtful’ anti-same-sex marriage statement (The Guardian, Australia)
June 24 – Parents at Sydney Anglican school St Catherine’s are preparing for a fight after publicly rejecting a new requirement for incoming principals to sign a statement that marriage is between a man and a woman, with some same-sex parents saying the statement is deeply hurtful.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Catholic Church
Pope hails families, blasts ‘culture of waste’ after Roe (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 26 – Rome: Pope Francis celebrated families on Saturday and urged them to shun “selfish” decisions that are indifferent to life as he closed out a big Vatican rally a day after the US Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion.
Islam
Taliban say they will not interfere with Afghanistan earthquake aid (The Guardian, Australia)
June 26 – Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have pledged not to interfere with international efforts to distribute aid to tens of thousands of people affected by this week’s deadly earthquake.
Religious Violence
Horror on Oslo Pride day as gunman goes on deadly rampage killing two, injuring 21 (ABC News)
June 26 – Terrified revellers at a gay bar in Oslo hid in a basement and desperately called loved ones as a gunman went on a rampage, killing two people and injuring 21 on the day the city was due to celebrate its annual Pride parade.
Also: Norway on highest terror alert after two killed in mass shootings (The Guardian, Australia)
June 26 – Norway’s security service has raised its terror alert to the highest level, saying it believes the suspect arrested after two people were killed in overnight shootings in Oslo is a radicalised Islamist with a history of mental illness.
Other
Thousands flock back to Stonehenge to welcome back ‘euphoric’ summer solstice (ABC News)
June 22 – Thousands of people from all walks of life have flocked to greet the summer solstice at Stonehenge to mark the longest day of the northern hemisphere year.
How the Christian right took over the judiciary and changed America (The Guardian, Australia)
June 25 – The supreme court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which reverses the constitutional abortion rights that American women have enjoyed over the past 50 years, has come as a surprise to many voters. A majority, after all, support
ISLAM
Man who allegedly tracked sister before ‘attempted honour killing’ denied release from detention (ABC News)
June 22 – A man who tracked his sister before she was the victim of an alleged “attempted honour killing” and barged into the wrong house searching for her has lost a bid to be released from home detention bail.
Australian Muslims ‘devastated’ by Saudi Arabia’s new Hajj pilgrimage lottery (ABC News)
June 22 – As 1 million Muslims have been preparing to make the journey of a lifetime to Islam’s holiest sites, the Saudi government has made a surprise announcement that has devastated Islamic communities across Australia and the Western world.
