Religion News Selection
January 15 – 22, 2023
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ABUSE
George Pell allowed lives to be destroyed to protect himself and the Catholic church (The Guardian, Australia)
Jan 16 – (Opinion: Chrissie Foster) To be a sexual assault victim of Catholic clergy is to know the truth – the truth of your own experience.
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Mud-slinging is weakening the Catholic Church (The Australian)
Jan 19 – (Opinion: Helen Trinca ) For many observant Catholics, as well as those who have drifted away, the potential for raw politics in this extraordinary institution with its supernatural mission will surely be cause for dismay.
How Cardinal George Pell seduced News Corp (The Saturday Paper)
Jan 21 – (Opinion: Richard Ackland ) George Pell spent decades cultivating the Murdoch press, duchessing editors and senior journalists. The impacts of that political manoeuvring are clear in the coverage since his death.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Anglican Church
Church of England refuses to back same-sex marriage (Brisbane Times)
Jan 19 – London: The Church of England says it will allow blessings for same-sex, civil marriages for the first time but same-sex couples still will not be allowed to marry in its churches.
Other
Indian diamond heiress becomes child nun, following in family tradition (The Guardian, Australia)
Jan 19 – An eight-year-old girl in India who was due to inherit a multimillion-dollar diamond fortune has instead been admitted as a nun to a strict religious order after renouncing worldly pleasures.
With his luxury watch and murky Soviet past, Kirill is Putin’s spiritual leader and power broker (ABC News)
Jan 22 – When Patriarch Kirill sat down with Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov he might not have realised the meeting would embroil him in controversy.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Lunar New Year brings in the Year of the Rabbit, promising ‘change and hope’ in 2023 (ABC News)
Jan 22 – Sydney-based feng shui practitioner Meixi Yan says the Lunar New Year should usher in a time of “change and hope”.
