Religion News Australia
July 9 – 16, 2023
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
EDUCATION
School tour includes stop in Balranald (The Guardian, Australia)
July 12 – BALRANALD’S St Joseph’s Parish School has been visited by Catholic Education Wilcannia-Forbes director Peggy Saab.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Catholic Church
Pope Francis names nearly two dozen new cardinals (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 10 – Vatican City: Pope Francis announced he has chosen 21 new cardinals, including prelates from Jerusalem and Hong Kong – places where Catholics are a small minority – as he continues to leave his mark on the body of churchmen who will select his successor.
Pope Francis approves Bishop to head Shanghai diocese despite China’s violation of Vatican accord (ABC News)
July 16 – Pope Francis has approved a new bishop of Shanghai even as the Vatican chided China for transferring him there without consultation, in violation of bi-lateral accords.
Religious Violence
US Central Command says it killed ISIS leader in eastern Syria, using MQ-9 drones (ABC News)
July 10 – The US Central Command says it conducted a drone strike on July 7 that killed an ISIS leader in Eastern Syria.
Life sentence for American who recruited Australian teen Jake Bilardi to IS (Brisbane Times)
July 15 – New York: In 2013, Mirsad Kandic began working with the Islamic State group, helping to advance its campaign of global jihad.
Thousands march at Budapest Pride as anxiety rises over restrictive laws (Brisbane Times)
July 16 – Budapest, Hungary: Thousands of participants of the Budapest Pride march wound through the streets of the Hungarian capital on Saturday with marchers voicing their anxiety over the increasing pressure on the LGBTQ+ community from the country’s right-wing government.
Other
Netanyahu presses ahead with Supreme Court curbs, protests rage (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 12 – Tel Aviv: Thousands of protesters blockaded Israel’s main airport and highways on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition pressed ahead with a justice bill that has opened the deepest splits seen in the country in decades.
Teen tourist carves name into 1200-year-old temple (The Age, Melbourne)
July 13 – A teenage tourist carved his name into an 8th-century temple in Japan’s Nara prefecture last week, police said, the latest example of bad tourist behaviour this summer.
ISLAM
Adelaide teen overheard saying he ‘would do something’ at Anzac service, court hears (ABC News)
July 11 – A teen who pleaded guilty to terrorist offences and is seeking home detention was recently overheard by a caseworker saying that if he was not in detention for next year’s Anzac Day service “he would do something”, a court has heard.
Muslim ‘milk mums’ are not common. But for Raidah, it’s created a special bond with her nephew (ABC News)
July 16 – Five years ago, Raidah Shah Idil approached her brother with an unusual proposition.
JUDAISM
Nazi salutes, memes and assaults: Jewish students say state schools unsafe (The Age, Melbourne)
July 16 – Every day for five weeks at school, a 13-year-old boy says he was greeted with abuse, including heil Hitlers and being called a “dirty Jew” – a reminder that members of his family were murdered by Nazis.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Mormons walk away from major multinational tax evasion scheme (Brisbane Times)
July 10 – The Mormon Church is significantly reducing its use of a controversial shell company after an investigation revealed it had engaged in alleged serious tax evasion in Australia.
Pray yourself thin (ABC News)
July 12 – While Jenny was trying hard to be a good Christian, she was hiding a secret shame — one that can be traced back to biblical times.
Voodoo in the western suburbs: Judge sides with nurse over voice memo (The Age, Melbourne)
July 15 – Grace Oladejo, a registered nurse in her mid-40s from Point Cook, was worried about voodoo.
