Religion News Selection
April 11 – 18, 2021
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
EDUCATION
Catholic schools split over Mark Latham’s anti-trans education bill (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 18 – Catholic schools have split over Mark Latham’s proposal to ban any discussion of gender diversity in NSW classrooms, with the state’s main Catholic education body supporting the bill but the large Parramatta diocese lodging a strong objection.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Abuse
The priest was idolised but his accusers say the price for his charity was too high (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 16 – Dili: It was the same every night.
Islam
‘It didn’t need a redesign’: Iraqis hit out at plan to rebuild Mosul mosque destroyed by IS
Apr 17 – The UN’s plan to restore the historic mosque where Islamic State famously declared its caliphate has been labelled a modernist carbuncle, with architects and archaeologists slamming the “Gulf-inspired” cubist redesign in the historic centre of Iraq’s second city.
Judaism
Isi Leibler, key advocate for Jewish ‘refuseniks’, dies in Israel (Brisbane Times)
Apr 13 – Isi Leibler, a prominent leader of the Australian Jewish community, has died in Israel.
Religious Violence
Yazidi women fail in claim for compensation in Australia for actions of Isis fighter Khaled Sharrouf (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 14 – Five Yazidi women who say they were held as slaves by the notorious Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf have failed in a high court bid for compensation.
Other
Harrods stops selling Ganesha handbag after backlash from Hindus (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 14 – Harrods has stopped selling a luxury handbag after the accessory caused offence among the Hindu community.
Bhutan went from no jabs to being a world leader in COVID-19 vaccine rollout in three weeks (ABC News)
Apr 16 – When the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan was gifted 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in January, they decided to consult the stars before rolling them out.
Yoga can leave you injured, psychotic and a Hindu, Christian groups claim (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 17 – Jeremy Gray, a state lawmaker in Alabama, has been practicing yoga for years, initially as a workout after college football matches and later as a means of instilling in himself the virtues of focus and patience.
Liberty University sues scandal-hit ex-president Jerry Falwell Jr for $10m (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 17 – The prominent evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr is facing a $10m lawsuit from the Christian university founded by his father, and which he served as president until resigning in the wake of a sordid extortion scandal last year.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Greek Orthodox Church took tens of millions in rent from aged care home (ABC News)
Apr 16 – A group of taxpayer-funded aged care homes funnelled $31 million back into the coffers of one of Australia’s largest churches, an ABC investigation has found.
Outrage after WA decides not to prosecute over alleged destruction of sacred site (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 17 – Traditional owners say they are outraged by the Western Australian government’s decision not to prosecute a mining company for allegedly destroying a sacred site in the Kimberley and exporting granite from the site to China.
