Religion News Australia
June 11 – 18, 2023
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ABUSE
Brian Houston prioritised Hillsong’s reputation after father admitted sexual abuse of boy, court hears (ABC News)
June 15 – From the moment Hillsong founder Brian Houston heard his father admit to sexually abusing a young boy, his “only focus” was to protect the church’s reputation, a Sydney court has heard.
Also: Brian Houston allegedly covered up father’s abuse (The Australian)
June 15 – The Hillsong founder failed to tell police of his father’s sexual assault amid a church culture of keeping things ‘in house’.
Also: Hillsong’s Brian Houston bought his father’s victim’s silence and ‘did not report abuse to police’ (The Guardian, Australia)
June 15 – Brian Houston did not report his paedophile father to police in order to protect the church, and bought his father’s victim’s silence to stop him going to the “secular authorities”, a Sydney court has heard.
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Concerned Catholics calls for investigation after allegations against head of Catholic schools (ABC News)
June 12 – Concerned Catholics of Tasmania has called for an independent investigation into the culture at Catholic Education Tasmania, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against its executive director, Gerard Gaskin.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Islam
A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags (The Guardian, Australia)
June 18 – In 2015, many liberal residents in Hamtramck, Michigan, celebrated as their city attracted international attention for becoming the first in the United States to elect a Muslim-majority city council.
Religious Violence
ISIS slaughters dozens of Ugandan students (The Australian)
June 18 – Three adults also killed as gunmen attacked private boarding school near border with eastern Congo.
Also: At least 41 people dead after IS-linked attack on Uganda school (The Guardian, Australia)
June 18 – Militants linked to Islamic State reportedly killed at least 41 people and abducted others in an attack on a school in western Uganda, police have said.
POLITICS
Former pastor Nicole Werner wins Warrandyte Liberal Party preselection (The Age, Melbourne)
June 18 – A former youth pastor is on track to become the next state member for Warrandyte after winning Liberal preselection on Sunday.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
The deep, rich and problematic history of coffee in Australia and worldwide (ABC News)
June 12 – Since 850 CE, when coffee might have first been consumed, the little fruit of the coffee plant has traversed all seven continents.
Inquest to examine phone and online data in bid to understand radicalisation of Wieambilla shooters (The Guardian, Australia)
June 15 – The Queensland state coroner will review the diaries, online activities and six years’ of phone data relating to Wieambilla shooters Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train in a bid to understand how they became radicalised and identify any potential associates.
I lost my faith in God’s CV, so I did a reference check (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 18 – (Opinion: Satara Uthayakumaran) Towards the end of 2020, I remotely sat my HSC as part of the “class of COVID”.
