Religion Roundup 2008 - 24 (July 20 - 27)
(27 July 08)by Greg Spearritt
Religion Roundup
July 20 - 27, 2008
Religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
abuse / arts & entertainment / catholic church / education / international stories / islam / politics / religion & society / other
Burning Question (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
July 22 – (Opinion) THE Catholic Church, like any other corporation, seeks to enhance its public image.
Schools urged to act on Pope's apology (ABC News)
July 25 - A group representing sexual abuse victims in Canberra is calling for Daramalan and Marist Colleges to act now in light of the recent Papal apology.
Cash crisis ends sex counselling for priests (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 25 - THE Catholic Church's national sexual abuse assessment and treatment facility this month consists of one volunteer in Kincumber on a mobile phone.
Victims’ Meeting with Pope
Pope Benedict meets abuse victims before flying out (The Australian)
July 21 - BEFORE flying out of Sydney Pope Benedict XVI met four victims of child sex abuse by members of the clergy in Australia.
Pope meeting angers abuse activists (ABC News)
July 21 - The Catholic Church has angered prominent sex abuse activists after they were left out of a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and a small group of abuse victims in Sydney this morning.
Abuse meeting was no whitewash: Pell (ABC News)
July 21 - The Catholic Church's most senior figure in Australia, Cardinal George Pell, has defended the selection process for four victims of sexual abuse who met the Pope this morning.
Pope meets abuse victims (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - Pope Benedict XVI conducted a Mass with four sexual abuse victims this morning, but the father of two other victims said he was "disgusted" to have been sidelined from the meeting.
Pope accused of PR stunt (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - The Catholic Church has been accused of "hand-picking" four victims of clergy sex abuse for a secretive meeting with the Pope.
Support group fears abused were hand-picked for Pope (The Australian)
July 21 - A SUPPORT group fears only victims of clergy abuse who were satisfied by the church's handling of complaints were hand-picked for today's meeting with the Pope.
Pope can't meet all victims – Pell (Adelaide Now)
July 21 - IT was not possible for the Pope to make a personal apology to every Australian victim of sex abuse by Catholic clergy, the Archbishop of Sydney says.
Cardinal George Pell defends Pope's apology to abuse victims (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
July 21 - CARDINAL George Pell says it was not possible for the Pope to give a personal apology to every Australian victim of sex abuse by Catholic clergy.
Victim's family feels left out (Adelaide Now)
July 21 - THE father of two sex abuse victims says the church was "discourteous" by not telling them of the Pope's personal apology to victims today.
Pope's response compassionate, sex abuse victims say (ABC News)
July 22 - Two victims of sexual abuse have released a statement about their meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Sydney this morning.
Pope's secret Mass inflames row over abuse (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - THE Catholic Church has defended its handling of a secret Mass involving the Pope and four victims of sexual abuse early yesterday amid criticism that the sunrise meeting excluded hundreds of abuse survivors, their families and support groups.
Culture of grief never resolved (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
July 23 – (Opinion) Flying to Sydney for World Youth Day, the Pope told reporters he wanted to express regret to victims of priests who abused them.
Reason, religion and the X-Files (News.com.au)
July 23 – (Opinion) Despite our willingness to query and challenge certain kinds of faith, it's clear that, as a species, we not only want to believe, we have to.
Sparest treatment the best (The Australian)
July 24 – (Review) In a bright square of light, on an almost bare stage, Bruce Myers dons a cassock and begins to recount and recreate the argument the cardinal Grand Inquisitor makes before Christ, the silent interlocutor in his prison cell (played by Joachim Zuber).
Compass: Catholic Dilemma (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 27 – (Review) In the conclusion of this two part series, Compass again points its focus at the seemingly unfair dictums of the Catholic church.
Mary MacKillop Centre expecting post WYD rush (ABC News)
July 21 - Penola's Mary MacKillop Centre is bracing itself for an influx of visitors now that the World Youth Day festivities have drawn to a close.
Believers: Does Australian Catholicism have a Future? (The Age, Melbourne)
July 21 – (Review) HOPE IS THE SECRET weapon in the Catholic Church's quest to survive and flourish in Australia: this is the quality the church has that its secular opponents do not
Gen Y's papal connection (The Australian)
July 26 – (Opinion) SOME World Youth Day pilgrims during the past week have summed up the impact of the event to me by saying that, at least for the time being, they no longer felt as though they were an embattled minority.
Kevin Rudd's quiet protest to China over Catholics (The Australian)
July 25 - KEVIN Rudd told the Pope last week that he complained to Beijing two months ago about the persecution of Catholics in China.
World Youth Day
Spanish pilgrims welcome WYD decision (ABC News)
July 20 - Spanish pilgrims have warmly welcomed the announcement that the 2011 World Youth Day will be held in Madrid.
WYD mass 'unforgettable end' to celebrations (ABC News)
July 21 - Organisers have described the World Youth Day closing mass led by Pope Benedict XVI as an unforgettable conclusion to the week-long celebration.
'You've become one of us': Rudd farewells Pope (ABC News)
July 21 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Governor-General Michael Jeffery have farewelled the Pope at Sydney Airport, after the pontiff's eight-day stay in Australia for World Youth Day.
A tsunami of faith and joy (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - POPE BENEDICT XVI walked in the footsteps of two popes to conduct an epic outdoor Mass at Randwick racecourse yesterday in front of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. It was an event the Australian Catholic Church believes will mark the reinvigoration of the faith across the nation.
Linda Morris: First the fervour, now the reckoning (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 – (Opinion) AT THE end of yesterday's papal Mass the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, expressed the hope that the seed planted in the Great South Land would "please God, yield a hundredfold harvest".
From a theologian to Pope of the people (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - The Herald's European correspondent, who will return to Rome today on the papal flight, charts the Pope's transformative week.
The Lord's prayer: be prophets of this new age (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - This is an edited extract of Pope Benedict's homily at Randwick racecourse yesterday.
A day in the life of a church and a city (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 – (Opinion) The idea of pilgrimage is more than just a long journey: it is, above all, transformation.
Chamber of Commerce confident WYD will generate $230m (ABC News)
July 21 - The Sydney Chamber of Commerce is standing by its estimate that the World Youth Day event would generate $231 million in economic activity.
Also: What tourism mojo? Shops still sceptical (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - THE Sydney Chamber of Commerce and Industry has invited critics of World Youth Day to "gorge themselves on humble pie", claiming the event generated $231 million in economic activity for the city.
Catholic Church has Stilnox effect (News.com.au)
July 21 – (Opinion) Who would have thought the daggy Catholic folk many of us grew up with could pull off such a cool event.
400,000 gather, Tumi Le meets Pope Benedict XVI with kiss (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)
July 21 - LITTLE does baby Tumi know that yesterday's historic kiss by Pope Benedict continues her family's religious lineage that spans six generations.
Despite 400,000 pilgrims, Randwick racecourse is intact (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)
July 22 - THE sea of rubbish left by 400,000 pilgrims was definitely not heavenly, but Randwick's hallowed turf miraculously survived Australia's biggest ever Mass intact.
A joyful display of faith (The Australian)
July 22 – (Opinion) AUSTRALIANS are quite used to the idea of tens of thousands of people travelling halfway across the world for the Olympics because we've always been religious about sport.
Pope's visit a reminder of life's higher meaning: editorial (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)
July 22 – (Opinion) POPE Benedict XVI's visit to Australia was, by any measure, a triumph of organisation, of optimism over scepticism, and of marketing.
World Youth Day like the Wizard of Oz (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)
July 22 – (Opinion) WORLD Youth Day in Sydney has been much like a contemporary version of The Wizard of Oz story.
Holy Father praises Aussies (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)
July 22 - THE Pope bid farewell to Sydney yesterday, leaving behind legions of new-found friendships and thousands of volunteers who were moved to tears by the pontiff.
Costs up, but flock's hip pocket is safe (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - THE Sydney Catholic Church is counting the cost of World Youth Day, conceding that its out-of-pocket expenses might exceed original estimates of between $15 million and $20 million.
Michael Harry v The Man in spiffy red jiffies (Adelaide Now)
July 24 – (Opinion) MY grandparents are diligent Catholics and some of my earliest memories are of going to church with them in their semi-rural country town.
Beauty personified on our streets (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 24 – (Opinion) For those who had been to previous World Youth Days in Rome, Manila, Toronto and Cologne, the unqualified success of Sydney's turn was no surprise.
Welcome to nation of university ghettos (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 23 - A WIDENING gulf between local and foreign university students is creating segregated classes, cultural cliques and religious ghettos, raising fears of a backlash on campuses.
Hillsong hits schools with beauty gospel (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 26 - EVERY Tuesday afternoon during the first term at Matraville Sports High School, a group of young women take part in classes intended to boost their self-esteem.
Anglican Church
Anglican Church urged to stop excluding people (ABC News)
July 21 - A Sri Lankan bishop has urged conservative members of the Anglican Church to stop trying to exclude people because of their perceived faults.
Anglican split a 'wound', says Rowan Williams (The Australian)
July 22 - CANTERBURY, England: The head of the Anglican communion said the global fellowship faced "one of the most severe challenges" in its history, and told bishops at their once-a-decade Lambeth conference that they must find solutions beyond schism.
Anglican chief admits strains as bishops meet (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - The Archbishop of Canterbury today admitted strains in the Anglican church, but played down talk of a full-blown schism as bishops began debate in a once-a-decade gathering.
Catholic Church
Rights group protests over Pope's fur (Adelaide Now)
July 22 - ONE of Italy's leading animal rights groups is launching an internet petition to demand Pope Benedict XVI stop wearing fur during religious ceremonies at the Vatican.
Catholic groups call on pope to end contraception ban (ABC News)
July 26 - More than 50 dissident Catholic groups have published an unusually frank open letter to Pope Benedict saying the Church's ban on contraception had been "catastrophic" and urging him to lift it.
Also: Lift condom ban, Catholics tell Pope (Adelaide Now)
July 26 - CATHOLIC groups from Europe to the Americas have called on Pope Benedict XVI to reverse the Vatican's stance on contraception, in an open letter published in a daily newspaper.
Iraqi Christians need protection: Pope (ABC News)
July 26 - Pope Benedict XVI has told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that minority Christians in Iraq need more protection but the Iraqi leader assured him that Christians were not being persecuted.
US Presidential Election
Message of unity fires up crowd (The Age, Melbourne)
July 26 - DRAWING a crowd and fanfare most elected leaders dream about, presidential candidate Barack Obama used his first major speech on foreign soil to warn that the frayed relationship between the United States and Europe is one of many "new walls" that weaken global security and hobble the pursuit of a "common humanity".
Other
Albinos targeted in witchcraft killings (ABC News)
July 22 - An undercover investigation by the BBC has found that albinos in Tanzania are still being murdered so their body parts can be used in witchcraft.
Dodgy online trader admits to big fib (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - A New Zealand man who claimed he was an ex-Jesuit priest, to enhance the worth of Catholic memorabilia he was selling on the online auction site TradeMe, has confessed he told a "porky" about his religious career.
NZ church provides fuel for soul and car (ABC News)
July 24 - A church in New Zealand has come up with a clever way to attract more worshippers - it is offering fuel vouchers to newcomers.
Israel won't go without a fight (The Australian)
July 26 – (Opinion) AS the likelihood of a US attack on Iran recedes with the fading of the Bush presidency, Israel is coming to grips with the possibility of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities alone.
Andrews agenda was "anti-Islam' (The Australian)
July 22 - FORMER immigration minister Kevin Andrews revealed the Howard government's "hidden agendas'' and hatred of Islam when he instructed his department to lift the intake of Christian refugees from the Middle East, according to one of the nation's most senior Muslim leaders, Ameer Ali.
Terrorism trial
Case against terror suspect an 'embarrassment' (The Age, Melbourne)
July 21 - The case against the youngest of 12 defendants in Australia's largest ever terrorism trial was an embarrassment, his lawyer said today.
Muslim terror plot to murder Howard 'was all talk' (The Australian)
July 22 - A DISCUSSION about killing John Howard and his family between the alleged leader of a home-grown Muslim terror cell and one of his followers has been dismissed as merely hypothetical.
Terror accused taught to steal in Allah's name, court told (The Australian)
July 24 - AN accused terrorist was attracted to the alleged leader of a home-grown terror cell because he taught it was permissible to steal and commit fraud under Islam rather than out of any interest in violent jihad, his lawyer said today.
Accused terrorist just a dope-smoking 'naughty boy' (The Australian)
July 25 - AN accused terrorist was more interested in stealing and committing credit card fraud in the name of Allah than pursuing violent jihad, according to his lawyer.
Andrews agenda was "anti-Islam' (The Australian)
July 22 - FORMER immigration minister Kevin Andrews revealed the Howard government's "hidden agendas'' and hatred of Islam when he instructed his department to lift the intake of Christian refugees from the Middle East, according to one of the nation's most senior Muslim leaders, Ameer Ali.
Billionaire the money behind merger (The Australian)
July 26 - Mr McIver, who it is claimed is aligned with the religious Right of the Nationals, was influential in the demise last year of then parliamentary leader Jeff Seeney.
Rudd spiritual adviser sees a leadership trinity (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 26 - KEVIN RUDD should lead a "troika" of progressive Christian politicians to eradicate poverty in the developing world, one of America's most influential pastors has said.
Vatican appointment
Tim Fischer gets Vatican posting (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 21 - Newly appointed ambassador to the Holy See Tim Fischer has admitted that he is a less than perfect practising Catholic.
Smith defends Fischer's Vatican role (ABC News)
July 21 - Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has defended the appointment of the former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer as Australia's ambassador to the Vatican.
Fischer to be our man in Vatican (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 22 - THE former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer admits he is a less-than-perfect practising Catholic but the retired politician with a fondness for trains has been enlisted to help forge closer political ties with the Vatican after the World Youth Day celebrations.
Tim Fischer honoured by unexpected privilege (The Australian)
July 22 - FORMER deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has confessed he went "white" when the Prime Minister offered him a Vatican posting.
Kevin Rudd parts the Holy See with Tim Fischer (The Australian)
July 22 - KEVIN Rudd has defied the public service to appoint Tim Fischer as Australia's first resident ambassador to the Vatican.
Vatican post part of global vision (The Australian)
July 22 – (Opinion) THE appointment of Tim Fischer as Australia's first resident ambassador to the Vatican is a brilliant and far-sighted act that indicates, as much as anything the Rudd Government has done, a determination that Australia will play a meaningful role globally.
Politics of the pulpit (The Australian)
July 22 – (Opinion) Having Tim Fischer as Australia's eyes and ears in the Holy See is in the nation's interests.
We slashed the foreign affairs budget for this? (The Age, Melbourne)
July 22 – (Opinion) SO, TIM Fischer will be Australia's man at the Holy See. Nothing against the affable farmer turned deputy PM under John Howard, but frankly, this is an odd decision. Bizarre even.
Today the Vatican, tomorrow the world (The Australian)
July 25 – (Opinion) KEVIN Rudd is embarking on a global diplomatic faith offensive which goes far beyond the appointment of former Nationals' deputy prime minister Tim Fischer as Australia's first resident ambassador to the Vatican.
Forgive me my envoy envy (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
July 26 – (Opinion) IF Australia is going to have an ambassador to the Pope, I want an ambassador to Madonna appointed too.
Submissions on tax disclosure (The Australian)
July 21 – (Opinion) At the moment, religious groups with financial activities are exempt from the Banking Act.
Religion a threat to authority, not liberty (The Australian)
July 21 – (Opinion) THE arguments for the unity of freedom and unbelief are common cultural currency. We are told faith makes us subservient to authority.
Churches 'need do more on climate change' (ABC News)
July 22 - A researcher for the Australian National University says Christian denominations need to do more to address climate change.
Leather-clad Barbie has church in a lather (News.com.au)
July 23 - POOR old Barbie's in the firing line again.
Purity balls heading down under (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 23 - A growing religious movement in the US of fathers and daughters attending "purity balls" could soon be heading to Australia.
Australians are staying married for longer (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
July 24 - AUSTRALIANS are ditching the seven-year itch and staying married for longer.
Family in name only (The Australian)
July 26 – (Opinion) The Family. A comforting name for an organisation - until it's appropriated by a Charles Manson.
Infants 'have natural belief in God' (The Age, Melbourne)
July 26 - INFANTS are hard-wired to believe in God, and atheism has to be learned, according to an Oxford University psychologist
Oldest New Testament Bible goes cyber (ABC News)
July 22 - More than 1,600 years after it was written in Greek, one of the oldest copies of the Bible will become globally accessible online for the first time this week.
From the Archive…
Religion Roundup 2008 - 22 (July 7 - 14)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 21 (June 30 - July 7)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 20 (June 22 - 30)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 19 (June 16 - 22)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 18 (June 9 - 16)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 17 (June 1 - 9)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 16 (May 25 – June 1)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 15 (May 19 - 25)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 14 (May 11 - 19)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 13 (May 5 - 11)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 12 (April 27 – May 5)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 11 (April 20 - 27)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 10 (April 14 - 20)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 9 (April 8 - 14)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 8 (April 1 - 8)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 7 (March 22 - 31)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 6 (March 15 - 23)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 5 (March 1-15)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 4 (February)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 3 (January/February)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 2 (January)
Religion Roundup 2008 - 1 (December /January)
Religion Roundup 2007 - 2 (December)
Religion Roundup 2007 - 1 (Nov/Dec)
