Religion News Australia
July 7 – 14, 2023
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ABUSE
Loud Fence ribbons recognising child sexual abuse survivors removed from Ballarat cathedral (ABC News)
July 9 – Just days after parishioners, survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, and their supporters gathered in a show of solidarity to tie colourful ribbons to a Ballarat cathedral fence, the majority have been cut and removed.
Toowoomba religious group to face trial over death of eight-year-old Queensland girl with diabetes (The Guardian, Australia)
July 9 – Members of a Toowoomba religious group are due to go on trial over the death of an eight-year-old with diabetes who was allegedly denied insulin for days.
Also: Trial begins for 14 members of religious group accused of killing girl (Brisbane Times)
July 10 – The trial of a fringe religious group accused of killing a Queensland girl has begun, with the court hearing one of her parents had previously been jailed for failing to provide their daughter with the necessities of life.
Also: Religion, medicine and the case of Elizabeth Struhs (The Guardian, Australia)
July 14 – Court hears that Toowoomba sect members charged with murder and manslaughter of Elizabeth Struhs turned down offers of legal representation.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
‘Looney Tunes Jesus’ picture pulled from Sydney exhibition after protests (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 8 – The mayor of Liverpool Council ordered the removal of an artwork, one of the finalists in the Blake Prize for religious or spiritual art, because the Christian community had taken offence “at Jesus Christ being portrayed as a Looney Tunes character”.
EDUCATION
Years at Exclusive Brethren school were ‘darkest moments of my life’, former student says (The Guardian, Australia)
July 8 – Students in need of psychological support at schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect cannot access external counselling services without getting approval from up to a dozen members of the school and church community, according to multiple former staff members.
Also: Why Guardian Australia is investigating Exclusive Brethren schools (The Guardian, Australia)
July 8 – In the early 1990s, the Exclusive Brethren – now called the Plymouth Brethren Christian church – set up its own private schooling system.
Also: Students under near constant surveillance at Exclusive Brethren-linked schools, insiders claim (The Guardian, Australia)
July 9 – Students at a network of private schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect are subject to near constant surveillance, including in out-of-school hours, according to former staff, students and parents.
Also: Wealthy Exclusive Brethren schools net almost $30m in disadvantage payments (The Guardian, Australia)
July 10 – The Exclusive Brethren’s OneSchool Global network of private schools has received almost $30m in commonwealth payments for educational “disadvantage” over five years despite many being among the country’s wealthiest schools, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Catholic Church
Women should receive ‘fuller recognition’ in the Catholic Church, Vatican says (ABC News)
July 14 – The global Catholic Church is split on whether to allow women to serve as deacons, a Vatican document showed on Tuesday.
JUDAISM
Prime minister names Jillian Segal as first Australian anti-Semitism envoy (ABC News)
July 14 – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named Jewish lawyer and business leader Jillian Segal as the nation’s first anti-Semitism envoy, in response to the rise of Jewish people being targeted amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
Broadcasting doyenne accused of anti-Jewish hate speech (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 14 – Former SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis has been accused of racial vilification.
POLITICS
Who are the grassroots Muslim groups with an eye on Labor seats? (The Guardian, Australia)
July 9 – The Albanese government’s response to the conflict in Gaza will come under fire when self-described “grassroots” campaigns target dissatisfied voters in numerous key electorates at the next federal election.
Criticism of Israel is ‘not always’ antisemitic, Australia’s attorney general says (The Guardian, Australia)
July 10 – Australia’s attorney general has said some forms of criticism of Israel can be antisemitic, after the government appointed a special envoy to combat rising levels of hatred against the Jewish community.
