Religion News Selection 5 (Feb 1 - 7)
(06 February 10)by Greg Spearritt
Religion News Selection
Feb 1 - 7, 2010
A selection of religion news stories from Australia.
Inclusion here does not endorse the veracity or quality of any particular item – it just means I found it worth reading and reflecting on (even if badly conceived or poorly written).
If you’re after the unexpurgated (and reasonably unbiased) version, see Religion News Australia which appears weekly on our website.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What's the good of it? (The Australian)
Feb 6 – (Review) Does altruism really lie behind charitable acts?
CATHOLIC CHURCH
'Ruthless' church accused of re-writing history (ABC News)
Feb 2 - The Catholic Church in Brisbane, last year labelled as "un-Christian" by some, is now being accused of attempting to re-write history.
Priest who faked cancer resurfaces (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 7 - A CATHOLIC priest who lied about having cancer to raise money from his Sydney flock has been quietly moved to work in the church in Perth.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Catholic Church
Pope attacks British human rights reform (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 3 - LONDON: The Pope has attacked Britain's reform of human rights and equality legislation, saying religious employers should be allowed to discriminate against homosexuals.
Also: Gay rights reveal a papal blind spot (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 3 – (Opinion: Editorial) IT IS no secret that not all teachers in Catholic schools are practising Catholics, and that even some who are do not subscribe to all of the church's teachings on sexual morality.
Also: Britain backs down on church reform law (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 4 - LONDON: The British government has caved in to pressure from the Pope and churches by abandoning controversial reforms that would have forced religious groups to abide by anti-discrimination laws.
Haiti – earthquake aftermath
Missionary left trail of financial woes in Idaho (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 6 - THE Idaho woman who led a group of 10 Baptists on a mission to help children in Haiti admits to failing to obtain paperwork needed to move 33 children to the Dominican Republic.
Voodoo 'discrimination' in aid distribution (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 2 - VOODOO followers in Haiti have been victims of discrimination by evangelical Christians who are monopolising aid in the devastated country, according to a high priest of the religion.
Islam
Hidden danger in tampering with the veil (The Australian)
Feb 1 – (Opinion: Sally Neighbour) LIKE the Americans waging war in Afghanistan, the French demanding their government ban the burka would do well to look back in history at the experience of others who pursued a similar path.
Also: France's burka ban a boost for equality (The Australian)
Feb 4 – (Opinion: Greg Sheridan) OF all the countries of Europe, France has the best chance of coping successfully with large-scale Muslim immigration.
Afghan women fear peace plans will reverse rights (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 5 - Farida Tarana defied age-old Afghan tradition, death threats and sexual discrimination to become a pop star and later the public face of post-Taliban women's politics.
Other
Lost in a garden of good and evil (The Australian)
Feb 1 – (Opinion: Matthew Parris) WITHIN minutes of the start of his testimony to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq invasion, a tanned Tony Blair gave us the key to understanding his motivation.
Tribe brings back dead with "clothing" ritual (The West Australian, Perth)
Feb 2 - MANILA (Reuters) - Members of the Hanunuo Mangyan tribe in the Philippines do not leave their dead in the grave for long, digging up the remains of loved ones in an unusual revival ritual that itself is slowly dying out.
Faith healers jailed over son's death (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 3 - A couple has been found guilty for praying over their ill son instead of seeking medical help.
JUDAISM
New probe on Hezbollah TV (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 5 - HEZBOLLAH'S TV station is to be investigated again to see whether it breaks Australian rules on supporting terrorism, racial vilification and hate speech.
POLITICS
Virginity plea electorally painless for Tony Abbott (The Australian)
Feb 2 - TONY Abbott's fatherly advice for teenage girls not to give their virginity away "lightly" has cost him some support among women voters after a week of concerted attacks from government ministers and feminists.
Also: Our Tony, who art in Speedos (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 3 – (Opinion: Catherine Deveny) Please tell me it's not too late to nominate Tony Abbott for a Queen's Birthday honour for his services to patriarchy and his commitment to turn back equality 1500 years.
Also: Captain Catholic has an awkward fellow traveller (The Australian)
Feb 6 - (Opinion: Emma Tom) ALL this hoo haa-ing over Tony Abbott's comments about gift-wrapped virginities has left me, like lots of other Australian parents, in an extraordinarily awkward position.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Oh, my God - atheist convention sells out (The Age, Melbourne)
Feb 2 - AN ATHEIST convention in Melbourne has sold out six weeks before it opens despite no aid from any level of government, organisers said yesterday.
Ringing in the modern ritual (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)
Feb 3 – (Opinion: Jane Fynes-Clinton) 'I AM looking for a divorce ring, if there is such a thing," the man in the fluoro work shirt and heavy boots loudly asked the jewellery shop saleswoman.
Female circumcision happening in Australia (ABC News)
Feb 6 - Health authorities in Australia say they are concerned about the growing number of women who have undergone some form of genital mutilation.
From the Archive…
Religion News Australia 2010 - 5 (February 1 - 7)
Religion News Australia 2010 - 4 (January 24 - 31)
Religion News Australia 2010 - 3 (January 17 - 24)
Religion News Australia 2010 - 2 (January 10 - 17)
Religion News Australia 2010 - 1 (January 2 - 10)
Religion News Australia 2009 - 50 (December 27 – January 2)
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