Religion News Selection
Nov 22 – 29, 2020
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Abuse
Pope Francis sued by three Australians allegedly sexually assaulted by Melbourne paedophile priest (ABC News)
Nov 27 – Three men who were allegedly sexually assaulted by a paedophile priest are suing Pope Francis, the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and the Catholic Church.
Catholic Church
Pope, for first time, says China’s Uighurs are ‘persecuted’ (Sydney Morning Herald)
Nov 24 – Vatican City: In a new book, Pope Francis for the first time calls China’s Muslim Uighurs a “persecuted” people, something human rights activists have been urging him to do for years.
Let Us Dream by Pope Francis review – the holy father of fraternity (The Guardian, Australia)
Nov 29 – Not long into these reflections on the lessons of a traumatic year, Pope Francis offers a line from his favourite poet, Friedrich Hölderlin: “Where the danger is, grows the saving power.”
Pope installs new cardinals, including first African American (The Guardian, Australia)
Nov 29 – Pope Francis has installed 13 new cardinals, including the first African American to hold the high rank, further expanding the pontiff’s impact on the group that will one day elect his successor.
Islam
Leading Saudi women’s activist referred to terrorism court (Brisbane Times)
Nov 26 – Dubai: A leading Saudi women’s rights activist who’s been imprisoned for 2 1/2 years and drawn attention to the kingdom’s hard limits on dissent will be tried by a court established to oversee terrorism cases, her family said on Wednesday.
Other
Netflix miniseries sparks controversy in India over kiss between Hindu woman and Muslim man (ABC News)
Nov 26 – It was meant to be a touching moment in a fictional miniseries on Netflix, but a kiss between a young Hindu woman and a Muslim man has sparked controversy in India and become the latest flashpoint in the country’s identity politics.
Amy Coney Barrett casts deciding vote to block limit on religious gatherings (Sydney Morning Herald)
Nov 27 – Washington: With new Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s vote, the US Supreme Court has blocked coronavirus restrictions imposed on religious services in New York state, backing Christian and Jewish houses of worship in infection hot spots.
