Religion News Australia
Dec 10 – 17, 2023
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ANGLICAN CHURCH
Booze, fighting, porn: Sydney Anglicans’ first family and its prodigal son (Sydney Morning Herald)
Dec 17 – A few days after Peter Jensen was elected Archbishop of Sydney, a famously conservative Anglican diocese that frowns upon divorce, female ordination and sex outside heterosexual marriage, his son Dave, barely out of school, sat him down for an awkward conversation.
CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Vatican softened its stance on what Catholics can do with a loved one’s ashes (ABC News)
Dec 14 – The Catholic Church has relaxed its rules on what families can do with a loved one’s ashes when they pass.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Abuse
British boy missing for six years escapes French spiritual community (Sydney Morning Herald)
Dec 15 – London: A British boy who went missing in Spain six years ago has been found “alive and well” after escaping from a “spiritual community” in France.
Anglican Church
Church of England’s blessings are heavily in disguise for same-sex couples (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 17 – Today, for the first Sunday in the 489-year history of the Church of England, its vicars are at liberty to offer “prayers of love and faith” to same-sex couples.
Catholic Church
Pope Francis reveals he will not be buried in Vatican (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 14 – Pope Francis has said he has “already prepared” his tomb in a Rome basilica in a further sign of the pontiff’s quest to break from longstanding Vatican tradition.
George Pell’s great Vatican rival convicted of corruption (Brisbane Times)
Dec 17 – Vatican City: Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, has been convicted of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail.
Religious Violence
Suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany over alleged Europe terror plot (Sydney Morning Herald)
Dec 15 – Copenhagen/Berlin: Seven people, including four suspected Hamas members, have been arrested in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, authorities in the three countries say.
Other
Revealed: House speaker did little to fight toxic ‘burn pit’ his father campaigned against (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 13 – Mike Johnson’s creationist beliefs clash with environmental realities in a district where many residents hold deep concerns about pollution
Man charged with murder of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll (The Guardian, Australia)
Dec 14 – A stranger accused of breaking into the home of a Detroit synagogue leader was charged with her murder Wednesday, nearly two months after her body was found outdoors with multiple stab wounds, authorities said.
