Religion News Selection
February 26 – March 5, 2023
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Project declared jokes about Jesus are off-limits. Are we OK with that? (Sydney Morning Herald)
Mar 2 – (Opinion: Osman Faruqi) Nearly half a century ago a British film was released that was considered so blasphemous and offensive it was banned in a number of countries, including parts of the UK itself.
Also: Serious Christians don’t mind a Jesus joke. The Project’s apology is more laughable (The Age, Melbourne)
Mar 3 – Jesus was a man of many foreskins.
Also: ‘Forced and disingenuous’: Catholic Archbishop invites The Project to church (The Age, Melbourne)
Mar 3 – The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney has invited the boss of Channel Ten and panellists from its flagship current affairs program The Project to attend church at St Mary’s Cathedral, criticising the program’s lengthy apology for a joke about Jesus as disingenuous and forced.
EDUCATION
Melbourne school showed ‘dereliction of duty’ to students, court told (The Guardian, Australia)
Mar 2 – The leadership at Melbourne’s Brighton Secondary College has been accused of a “dereliction of duty” on the final day of a court case in which it is alleged they failed to protect five Jewish students from antisemitic discrimination and bullying.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Religious Violence
The trials of an Indian witness: how a Muslim man was caught in a legal nightmare (The Guardian, Australia)
Mar 2 – Nisar Ahmed was almost killed in the Delhi riots.
Netanyahu has brought Israel to a dangerous moment. We, the Jewish diaspora, cannot just stand by (The Guardian, Australia)
Mar 3 – (Opinion: Margaret Hodge) We are seeing the worst violence for many years erupting in Gaza and the West Bank.
Other
Sinners can now pray to chatbot saint (The Australian)
Mar 4 – A Swiss start-up has decided to take AI one step further and use it to put people in touch with saints.
POLITICS
Inside the Australian Christian Lobby’s identity crisis (Sydney Morning Herald)
Mar 4 – A week after its managing director was sacked by his board, the group is facing fights on all sides.
