Religion News Selection

January 23 – 31, 2022

A selection of religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Basic Instinct would be off-limits now, says cinema’s great provocateur (Sydney Morning Herald)
Jan 28 – We live in crushing times for sexuality, according to Paul Verhoeven.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Abuse

Former pope Benedict admits making false claim to child sexual abuse inquiry (The Guardian, Australia)
Jan 25 – The former pope Benedict XVI has admitted providing false information to a German inquiry into clerical sexual abuse.

Catholic Church

Pope urges parents to support gay children (The Australian)
Jan 28 – Francis listed difficulties parents face including discovering ‘different sexual orientations in their children’.

Other

Funeral for Thich Nhat Hanh held in Vietnam (The Guardian, Australia)
Jan 30 – A funeral has been held for the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, a week after the renowned Zen master and peace activist died at the age of 95 in Hue, central Vietnam.

ISLAM

Pride jumper a step too far for Muslim player (The Australian)
Jan 28 – The AFLW’s first Muslim player will not play in an LGBT pride match after deciding the jumper does not align with her religious beliefs.

JUDAISM

One in four Australians have little to no knowledge of the Holocaust (Brisbane Times)
Jan 25 – Nina Bassat can’t recall ever seeing anyone shot, but she supposes she must have done: even more than 70 years after World War II, she finds herself freezing whenever she hears the sound of a balloon popping.

POLITICS

Why Morrison refuses to drop the religious discrimination bill (The Saturday Paper)
Jan 29 – Two parliamentary inquiries into Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s religious freedom legislation are under way, with many, including Liberal Party supporters, wondering why the divisive bill has not been scrapped.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Monks, a polymath and an invention made by two people at the same time: the history of the index (ABC News)
Jan 28 – Eight centuries ago, the need for a way to collect and organise the contents of a book was so great that two people, in two different cities, came up with a solution – at the same time.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston steps down as leader of church (The Guardian, Australia)
Jan 30 – Hillsong founder Brian Houston has announced he is stepping down as leader of the church as he defends criminal charges that allege he covered up his father’s child sexual abuse.